NASA will set an official time and time zone for the Moon

The US government on Tuesday ordered the National Aerospace Agency to develop a common time standard for the Moon and other celestial bodies in the solar system. How reports Reuters agency, the United States wants to extend accepted international standards to space. This is happening in light of how more and more countries are announcing plans to explore the Moon, Mars and near space in general.

According to the White House order, cited by Reuters, NASA, along with other official organizations, must submit a “harmonized lunar time” (LTC) regulation by the end of 2026.

Setting the exact time for the Moon can be difficult due to differences in gravity and other factors. Agency spokesman Kevin Coggins said regular Earth clocks on the moon may be off, and accurate measurements there may require new instruments designed specifically for space conditions. For example, it could be an atomic clock.

A single time standard for the Moon is needed to ensure synchronization of data transmission between the Earth, the Moon’s satellites, future lunar bases and astronauts.

• In January, the NASA press service reported that the space agency plans to send a ship with four astronauts on a flight around the Moon in 2025, and in 2026 to carry out the first astronaut landing on the lunar surface since the Apollo program of the 1970s.
• Chinese developers statedthat they intend to carry out the first landing of a Chinese taikonaut on the Moon by 2030. India and its space agency have also recently sent their scientific vehicles to the Moon mentioned about the possibility of sending a man to the moon by 2040.