NASA Leads Initiative to Establish Coordinated Lunar Time Standard
Effort aims to synchronize timekeeping on the moon to support future exploration and commercial activities.
- NASA's Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program is spearheading the development of a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) standard.
- The initiative follows an April directive from the White House, with a strategy to be finalized by December 31, 2026.
- A uniform lunar time zone is essential for precise navigation, communication, and landing operations on the moon.
- Atomic clocks on the lunar surface would tick faster than those on Earth by about 56 microseconds per day due to weaker gravity.
- The new time standard will also support a future lunar GPS system and could be scalable to Mars and other celestial bodies.
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