Coordinated Lunar Time

Coordinated Lunar Time or LTC is a proposed primary lunar time standard for the Moon.^[1] In early April 2024, NASA was asked by the White House to work alongside domestic and international agencies for the purpose of establishing a unified standard time for the Moon and other celestial bodies by 2026.^[2] The White House's request, led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, called for a "Coordinated Lunar Time", which was first proposed by the European Space Agency in early 2023.^[1]^[3]

Currently, the time on the Moon is different for each country involved. As a result, activities on the Moon are coordinated using the time zone of where a mission's headquarters is based.^[4] For example, the Apollo missions utilized the Central Time Zone (CDT) as the missions were controlled from Houston, Texas.^[5]

^ ^a ^b "Telling time on the Moon". European Space Agency. February 27, 2023. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
^ Roulette, Joey; Dunham, Will (2024-04-03). "Exclusive: White House directs NASA to create time standard for the moon". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
^ "Should the Moon Have a Time Zone? Europe Pushes for 'Lunar Reference Time'". NBC Philadelphia. March 1, 2023. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023.
^ Rao, Joe (May 9, 2023). "What time is it on the moon? How a lunar clock debate led to an out-of-this-world timepiece". Space.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
^ Gibney, Elizabeth (2023). "What time is it on the Moon?". Nature. 614 (7946): 13–14. Bibcode:2023Natur.614...13G. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-00185-z. PMID 36693973. S2CID 256230630. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.

[LTCProposal-1] "Telling time on the Moon". European Space Agency. February 27, 2023. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.

[2] Roulette, Joey; Dunham, Will (2024-04-03). "Exclusive: White House directs NASA to create time standard for the moon". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-04-03.

[3] "Should the Moon Have a Time Zone? Europe Pushes for 'Lunar Reference Time'". NBC Philadelphia. March 1, 2023. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023.

[4] Rao, Joe (May 9, 2023). "What time is it on the moon? How a lunar clock debate led to an out-of-this-world timepiece". Space.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.

[5] Gibney, Elizabeth (2023). "What time is it on the Moon?". Nature. 614 (7946): 13–14. Bibcode:2023Natur.614...13G. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-00185-z. PMID 36693973. S2CID 256230630. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-03.

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