A single lunar time is planned to be introduced on the Moon

The space agencies that will be launching missions to the Moon over the next decade have started talking about universal timekeeping on Earth’s satellite.

Previously, such space programs used Earth’s time zones. However, this approach will become unacceptable in the near future. A vivid example is the event when American astronaut Neil Армстронг «href="https:>Armstrong stepped on the surface of the Moon — at that moment on July 21, 1969, the clocks in Houston showed 22:56, in Paris — 05:56, and in Tokyo — 13:56. Space researchers are convinced that the time set by clocks on Earth cannot be used outside the planet.

On Earth, time is measured by the planet’s rotation around its own axis. It is these rotations that define night and day. One complete revolution is 24 hours — a day, and one revolution around the Sun (365 days) defines one year. However, the lunar cycle does not work this way.

Francisco Diego, an astronomer at University College London, notes: «The way the Moon rotates means that a lunar day is 29 and a half Earth days long. So, on the Moon, we can see the sunrise and sunset for 14 days.»

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), clocks on the Moon tick 56 microseconds faster than on Earth. The reason is the weak gravitational field. «Once we have established a time system for the Moon, we can continue to do the same for other planets,» ESA said.

The development of a functional lunar time system will make it easier to create similar systems for other planets that will be explored in the foreseeable future. First of all, we are talking about Mars. This initiative will be part of a large-scale program to develop the architecture of communication and navigation systems beyond Earth.

As a reminder, NASA is developing technology that will allow people to live on the Moon and Mars. The team is working on a project that will allow humanity to build space bases in the future using local soil and rocks. The company will also test its hardware and software in a space simulator that simulates lunar gravity.