Since Einstein's theory of general relativity entered the public consciousness, we have known that time appears to pass more slowly near objects with greater mass, and more quickly near objects with less mass. Thus, even by a very small degree, time passes more quickly on the Moon than on Earth.
Recently, there has been an initiative for the Moon to have its own clock and timekeeping, so that future astronauts and spacecraft traveling there will be able to accurately measure time on the Moon.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has announced a forum where scientists from around the world will work together to develop a standard for lunar time. Susan Stewart, who co-invented the time, stressed the importance of making decisions together, on a collaborative basis.
So time on the Moon passes somewhat faster than on Earth, with an Earth day, or 24 hours, passing 58.7 microseconds faster on the Moon. As more and more countries and private companies plan to launch lunar missions in the near future, it is crucial to standardize timekeeping there.
Last year, the European Space Agency (ESA) began defining a unified lunar time, which NASA joined this year, and later other space agencies, at the request of the White House. According to plans, the final plan for calculating lunar time is expected to be in place by the end of 2026.
According to Bijnath Batla, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the development of lunar timekeeping is still in its infancy these days, so we currently only have ideas about how the clock would tick on the surface of our celestial companion. However, the scientific community is recognizing the importance of this proposal, which provides an excellent start to arriving at a new way of measuring time.
Article source: https://phys.org/news/2024-08-international-astronomy-group-lunar-clock.html
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