NASA confirms it’s developing the Moon’s new time zone

NASA confirms it's developing a new lunar time system to be established by 2026, driven by a directive from the White House.

: NASA, responding to a directive from the White House, is developing a new lunar time system by 2026. Coordinated Lunar Time will help with precision in future missions due to time discrepancies caused by relativity. Coordination involves U.S. government partners and international standards organizations.

NASA confirmed on Friday that it's creating a new time system specifically for the Moon, aiming to have it ready by the end of 2026. Following a policy memo from the White House published in April, NASA will collaborate with various U.S. government stakeholders and international standards organizations to develop Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).

The necessity for a lunar time zone arises from Einstein's theory of relativity, which explains that time moves faster on the Moon due to its weaker gravity. This difference, amounting to about 56 microseconds each day, can significantly impact the precision required for space missions and calculations.

NASA's Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program will lead the initiative, ensuring the LTC is scalable for potential future use on other celestial bodies like Mars. Artemis 2 is scheduled for a pass around the Moon in September 2025, followed by Artemis 3, aiming to land astronauts near the Moon's South Pole in 2026, underscoring the timeliness of establishing LTC.

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