If you thought that the timezones from Earth also apply to other plates or celestial objects in space, then you’re wrong. It was proven that gravity influences how time systems work, which is quite crucial for making decisions and calculations. The United States government has ordered NASA to come up with a system to take these changes into account.
The Moon Is Getting Its Own Time Zone
Since the moon’s gravity differs from Earth’s, time works differently there. Scientists have calculated that a clock from Earth would gain 56 microseconds per day on the moon. This might not sound like much, but the time difference can cause big problems. Mainly because in this little time objects on the moon will move around 18,3 km from the place we think they are.
It doesn’t really matter for people on Earth, however, NASA wants to send more people to the moon. To keep communication and timing correct, a new time zone will be developed to help astronauts and NASA employees read the time correctly and make the correct calculations. They want to expand this to different planets in our solar system if successful. The first of these time zones will be called “Coordinated Lunar Time” or LTC.
NASA Astronauts Will Be Able To Tell The Time More Accurately
The new time zone will be perfect for the next mission to the moon. NASA wants to send more manned rockets to the moon through their Artemis program. The earliest scheduled launch, with humans on board, is in September of 2025. However, these astronauts will only pass by the moon and return.
The next moon landing by NASA is only scheduled with Artemis 3, which will take place a year later. This gives them more than enough time to make new watches that work in space!
