NASA is looking for a new clock for the Moon, where time passes faster

WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA wants to find a way to measure time outside of this world and establish a clock specifically for the Moon.

This is not a time zone like those on Earth, but rather an entire new time reference frame for the Moon.

With less gravity, time passes a little faster—58.7 microseconds a day—compared to our planet. So the White House issued instructions Tuesday for NASA and other federal agencies to collaborate with international agencies to devise a new time reference system for the Moon.

“An atomic clock on the Moon will run at a different rate than a clock on Earth,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA’s director of communications and navigation. “It makes sense that when you travel to another celestial body, like the Moon or Mars, each of them beats at its own pace.”

So everything on the Moon will operate at accelerated lunar time, Coggins noted.

The last time NASA sent astronauts to the Moon they used watches, but time was not as precise and crucial as it is now with GPS systems, satellites and intricate computing and communications systems, he said. Those microseconds matter when high-tech systems interact, she added.

Last year, the European Space Agency noted that Earth needs to unify times for the Moon, where one day lasts the same as 29.5 Earth days.

The International Space Station, which is located in low Earth orbit, will continue to use universal coordinated time (UTC). But establishing the place where the new schedule will begin to be used is something that NASA must resolve. Even on Earth, time speeds up or slows down, so seconds need to be subtracted.

Unlike Earth, the Moon will not have daylight saving time, Coggins said.

The White House wants NASA to present a preliminary idea by the end of the year and have a final plan by the end of 2026.

NASA has set a goal of sending astronauts to the Moon in September 2025, and putting people on the lunar surface a year later.

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