The White House announced Tuesday that it had asked the American space agency to define a lunar time frame of reference, for the needs of the increasing number of space exploration missions. The director of the Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) has directed NASA to propose a plan, by the end of 2026, aimed at establishing Coordinated Lunar Time.
“As NASA, private companies and space agencies around the world launch missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, it is important that we establish time standards for safety and accuracy,” he said. OSTP Director Steve Welby said in a statement. He emphasized that “time passes differently” depending on our position in space. Where gravity is stronger, time seems to pass more slowly, such as near celestial bodies, he said.
Linking lunar time to universal time
“A consistent definition of time adopted by the different operators in space is essential” to navigate, communicate and track machines more precisely, insisted Steve Welby. According to the White House, the goal is to link Lunar Coordinated Time (LTC) to Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), which serves as a reference on Earth for setting clocks.
“Just as Earth time is set by a set of atomic clocks on Earth, a set of clocks on the Moon could set lunar time,” the OSTP statement said. The White House has asked NASA to collaborate with the departments of State, Commerce, Defense and Transportation to carry out its mission. The American space agency plans to land its astronauts on the Moon from 2026 at the earliest, as part of the Artemis missions.