The White House has instructed NASA to create a universal time standard for the moon and other celestial bodies. This move is designed to establish global space norms as the race to the moon intensifies.
What Happened: According to a memo, the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has directed NASA to develop a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) by the end of 2026, Reuters reported. The LTC will be a benchmark for timekeeping on lunar spacecraft and satellites, which require precise timing for their missions.
Kevin Coggins, NASA’s space communications and navigation chief, explained that the gravitational force and other factors on the moon and other celestial bodies cause time to unfold differently than on Earth. For example, an Earth-based clock on the moon would appear to lose an average of 58.7 microseconds per Earth-day.
“Think of the atomic clocks at the U.S. Naval Observatory (in Washington). They’re the heartbeat of the nation, synchronizing everything. You’re going to want a heartbeat on the moon,” Coggins said.
The memo from OSTP chief Arati Prabhakar also highlighted the necessity of a unified lunar time standard for secure data transfers between ...