Ever wondered what time it is on the moon? Well, soon enough, there will be a definitive answer.
On Tuesday, the White House directed NASA to create the first-ever standardized lunar time zone, with a goal to implement it by the end of 2026. This ambitious move is part of the U.S. push to set international norms for space exploration as the country and private companies race to return astronauts to the moon and expand the boundaries of lunar exploration.
A memo from Arati Prabhakar, head of the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), confirmed that NASA will collaborate with other U.S. government agencies to establish a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC). This unified time standard is necessary for the smooth operation of lunar spacecraft, satellites, and missions, which depend on precise timekeeping to navigate the harsh conditions of space.
“U.S. leadership in defining a suitable standard — one that achieves the accuracy and resilience required for operating in the challenging lunar environment — will benefit all spacefaring nations,” the memo reads.
The push for a lunar time zone comes as the U.S. prepares for renewed moon missions, including NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts back to the moon by 2026. The plan includes landing the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface, as well as setting the stage for future human missions to Mars.
As private companies and international space agencies gear up for missions, establishing a universal time system is seen as crucial for safety and operational efficiency. Steve Welby, OSTP’s Deputy Director for National Security, emphasized that a consistent time reference will ensure accuracy in space situational awareness, navigation, and communications. “A unified definition of time is foundational to enable interoperability across the U.S. government and with international partners,” Welby said.
Currently, time in space is tracked by atomic clocks under Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the global standard for civil and scientific time. But there are subtle differences in how time is measured on the moon. Due to the moon’s lower gravity, time actually moves 58.7 microseconds faster each day compared to Earth, as noted in the White House memo.
The last crewed mission to the moon occurred more than 50 years ago during NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. Since then, budget constraints and technological hurdles have delayed further human exploration of the moon. But with the Artemis program, NASA is preparing for its first return mission in September 2026, marking a new era of lunar exploration.
Interestingly, the U.S. isn’t the only country working on lunar time. The European Space Agency is also developing its own system for timekeeping on the moon. To make this a reality, the U.S. and international partners will need to agree on a common time standard, with discussions to take place through existing global standards bodies and among the 36 nations involved in the Artemis Accords, a framework that governs space activities.
In the coming years, the moon won’t just have a time zone—it will become a critical part of humanity’s journey into space, with precise timekeeping at its core.
