Unified standard of time for the moon

Published: 11th Apr, 2024

Context

NASA has been directed to establish a unified standard of time for the moon (Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)) and other celestial bodies, the same way as Earth has.

What is a time standard?

A time standard is a specification for measuring time intervals, defining the units of time (e.g., seconds, minutes, hours) and providing a reference for timekeeping.
Time standards are not similar to time zones, as a time zone is a region of the Earth that has the same standard time.
Need of time standard: The need for establishing a time standard for the Moon is paramount as several countries plan to send astronauts to the lunar surface in the latter half of the 2020s.
- The Moon requires a time standard due to factors such as differing gravitational forces and other celestial influences, which alter the time compared to Earth.
- Time on the Moon moves a tad quicker — 7 microseconds every day — compared to the Earth.

Working of Earth’s Time Standard

Time Zones are a geographical world globe division of 15^oeach, starting at Greenwich, in England, created to help people know what time is it now in another part of the world.
The local time within a time zone is defined by its offset (difference) from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the world's time standard.
- UTC is essentially an internationally agreed upon standard for world time.
It is tracked by a weighted average of more than 400 atomic clocks placed in different parts of the globe.
Atomic clocks measure time in terms of the resonant frequencies — the natural frequency of an object where it tends to vibrate at a higher amplitude — of atoms such as cesium-133.
- In atomic time, a second is defined as the period in which a caesium atom vibrates 9,192,631,770 times. As the vibration rates at which atoms absorb energy are highly stable and ultra-accurate.
UTC time changes 1 hour forward and backward corresponding to a 1-hour difference in mean solar time for every 15 degrees east or west of the prime meridian (0° longitude) in Greenwich, London, United Kingdom.
The offset is expressed as either UTC- or UTC+ and the number of hours and minutes.

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Unified standard of time for the moon

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CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC IAS

Unified standard of time for the moon

Still Have Questions?

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