White House asks NASA to develop lunar time standard

[New Sancai Compilation First Release] The White House on April 2 directed NASA to develop a unified time standard for the moon and other celestial bodies, as the United States aims to set a unified time standard in the increasingly fierce race for the moon among countries and private companies. International regulations for space.

The head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directed NASA to work with other parts of the U.S. government to develop a plan setting its goals by the end of 2026, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Known as Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).

Different gravitational forces on the moon and other celestial bodies, and potentially other factors, change how time unfolds relative to how it is perceived on Earth. In addition, LTC will provide a timing reference for lunar spacecraft and satellites that require extremely high precision in their missions.

"The clocks we use on Earth will move at a different speed on the moon," Kevin Coggins, NASA's director of space communications and navigation, said in an interview.

The memo from OSTP chief Arati Prabhakar said that for someone on the moon, Earth-referenced clocks would appear to lose an average of 58.7 microseconds per Earth day, along with other periodic changes, This would further skew lunar time from Earth time.

"Think about the atomic clocks at the U.S. Naval Observatory (Washington). They are the heartbeat of the nation, synchronizing everything. You would want to have a heartbeat on the moon," Coggins said.

Under the Artemis program, NASA aims to send astronauts to the moon in the next few years and establish a scientific lunar base to lay the foundation for future missions to Mars. Dozens of companies, spacecraft and countries are involved in the effort.

An official from the Office of Science and Technology Policy said that without a unified lunar time standard, it would be difficult to ensure the security of data transmission between spacecraft and the synchronization of communications between the Earth, lunar satellites, bases and astronauts.

The official said the time difference could also lead to errors in mapping and positioning on or around the moon.

'How destructive'

"Imagine the disruption that could be caused and how challenging daily life would be if clocks around the world were not synchronized to the same time," the official said.

On Earth, most clocks and time zones are based on Coordinated Universal Time (UCT). This internationally recognized standard relies on a vast global network of atomic clocks placed at various locations around the world. They measure changes in atomic states and produce averages that ultimately constitute precise time.

According to officials from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, atomic clocks may need to be deployed on the lunar surface.

The official also said that as commercial activities expand to the moon, unified time standards will be critical to coordinate operations, ensure the reliability of transactions and manage the logistics of lunar commerce.

NASA stated in January 2024 that it plans to carry out the first astronaut landing on the moon since the end of the Apollo program in the 1970s in September 2026, and plans to carry out a lunar flight with four astronauts in September 2025. Task.

Although the United States is the only country to send astronauts to the moon, other countries also have ambitions to land on the moon. Countries are eyeing potential mineral resources on the moon, and lunar bases could help support future manned missions to Mars and elsewhere.

China said in 2023 that it aimed to send the first astronauts to the moon by 2030. Japan became the fifth country to send a spacecraft to the moon in January 2024. India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the unexplored south pole of the moon in 2023 and announced plans to send astronauts to the moon in 2040.

“All space-faring nations will benefit from U.S. leadership in developing appropriate standards that achieve the accuracy and resiliency required to operate in the challenging lunar environment,” the OSTP memorandum states.

global cooperation

The memo said defining how coordinated lunar time would be implemented would require an international agreement through "existing standards bodies" and the 36 countries that have signed an agreement called the Artemis Accords, which covers countries' efforts in space and the moon. behavior on. China and Russia are the two main competitors of the United States in the space field, but they have not signed the Artemis Accords.

OSTP officials said Coordinated Universal Time may affect how Coordinated Lunar Time is implemented. The United Nations International Telecommunication Union defines Coordinated Universal Time as an international standard.

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)