The White House wants the North American space agency NASA develop a new time zone for the Moon, called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC). The information is provided by the British BBCwhich justifies the reason for the change with the faster passage of time on the Moon.
The main reason for this time adjustment is related to the significant impact that exists when trying to synchronize spacecraft with Earth time.
Due to the different strength of the gravitational field on the Moon, time passes faster on this satellite than on Earthapproximately 58.7 microseconds more every day.
In this way, the United States government hopes that the new schedule will help to maintain coordinated national and private efforts to reach the Moon.
“It makes sense that when you go to another body, like the Moon or Mars, that each one has its own heartbeat,” says NASA’s chief communications and navigation officer, Kevin Coggins.
The expert states: “An atomic clock on the Moon will run at a different rate than a clock on Earth.”
Professor Catherine Heymans, Astronomer Royal of Scotland, said that “this fundamental theory of gravity in our Universe has an important consequence: time runs differently in different places in the Universe.”
“Gravity on the Moon is a little weaker and the clocks work differently,” explained the professor in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
Time is currently measured on Earth by hundreds of atomic clocks, located around our planet, which measure the changing energy state of atoms to record time in nanoseconds.
If they were placed on the Moon, for 50 years they would be running one second faster.
ESA develops a new timing system
NASA is not the only institution trying to make the Moon have its own time zone.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has also been developing a new timekeeping system for some time.
If this measure is applied, it will first be necessary to have an agreement between the countries and a centralized coordination body, with this mediation currently being carried out by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures for time on Earth (BIPM).
Another element that countries will have to agree on is where the new deadline begins and how far it extends.
