What time is it on the moon? China and the US are racing to decide
The space rivals are spearheading separate initiatives to create time standards that will be used to coordinate international lunar missions
The US and its space partners are trying to establish a special time zone for the moon. Meanwhile, rivals China and Russia remain outside the US-led initiative, leaving Beijing to pursue its own lunar timing and navigation system.
Prompted by a White House directive, Nasa is spearheading the creation of a new time standard, Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), to support safe and sustainable exploration as more nations and private companies plan missions to the moon.
The proposed time system will be adopted by signatories of the US-led Artemis Accords and is intended to serve as “the international standard”, according to a memorandum from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy issued in April.
“Knowledge of time in distant operating regimes is fundamental to the scientific discovery, economic development, and international collaboration that form the basis of US leadership in space,” the office said in the memo.
Namrata Goswami, a space policy researcher at Arizona State University, said the White House directive was based on an expected increase in lunar activities, including crewed and uncrewed missions, which would require a common time zone for better coordination between the Artemis signatory countries.
