A Revolution in Time: Sending Clocks to the Moon
By Jacobo Garcia-Carrillo Campos
A bit over twenty years ago, the disaster of the Space Shuttle Columbia [1] shocked the world as it broke into pieces over Texas, killing seven astronauts. The already-dwindling space community saw this as the end of an era in space exploration. In fact, NASA and other government programs like the European Union’s ESA and Russia’s Roscosmos lost much of its funding in the early 2000s because both the general public and scientists were just not as interested with what was out there anymore. The decrease in scientific projects from 966 grants in 2002 to only 285 grants in 2008 highlights the decline in interest [2]. With progress on the space frontier slowing, TV channels and media groups turned their backs on the “space-hype” of the 20th century.
Thankfully, this period of low expectations was very beneficial for the aeronautics field. Engineers and astrophysicists and architects questioned the foundations that made space so interesting in the first place: satellites, robots, and crazy spaceships. This new break-it and fix-it mindset has reignited the industry with projects like the Perseverance Rover [3] and the James Webb Telescope. Also, the colossal SpaceX Starship [4] and the efficient Ariane 6 [5] are leading the way back to the Moon, and possibly even to Mars.
With the promise of lunar exploration, a new problem arises: time. According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, a clock will tick away differently in different parts of space. On the Moon, a day is 56 microseconds less than on Earth. While that doesn’t sound like much if you’re thinking of taking a nap or studying for a Spanish test, for navigation systems it’s an eternity [6]. This is exactly why ESA and NASA are working together on the “Moonlight” program [7] to create an autonomous telecommunications and navigation system solely for the moon. Moreover, ESA plans to send atomic clocks to the moon by satellite and establish communication centers on the Moon and on Earth [8].
A UTC time [9] for the Moon isn’t something too far-fetched, but scientists still have many questions of how to make it a reality. The main problem is funding. NASA is spread thin with its Artemis program and its ventures with SpaceX, while the European Space Agency has about a third of the budget of its American partner. Issues such as where does the local “Moon Time” begin and how time zones on the Moon will be distributed are also concerns. [10]. Nevertheless, the agencies plan to have all these problems answered by early 2025, so be on the lookout for more news on this developing field.
Works Cited
[1] Remembering the Columbia STS-107 Mission - NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/remembering-columbia-sts-107/. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
[2] Read “Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era of Space Exploration: An Interim Report” at NAP.Edu. nap.nationalacademies.org, https://doi.org/10.17226/12944. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
[3] Mars 2020: Perseverance Rover - NASA Science. 5 Dec. 2017, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/.
[4] “SpaceX.” SpaceX, http://www.spacex.com. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
[5] Ariane 6: What’s It Made Of? https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane/Ariane_6_what_s_it_made_of. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
[6] Brumfiel, Geoff. “If Daylight Saving Time Seems Tricky, Try Figuring out the Time on the Moon.” NPR, 11 Mar. 2023. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2023/03/11/1162351563/if-daylight-saving-time-seems-tricky-try-figuring-out-the-time-on-the-moon.
[7] Moonlight. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Connectivity_and_Secure_Communications/Moonlight. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
[8] Del Rey, Felipe. “Space Explained: What is a satellite ground station?” Immarsat, https://www.inmarsat.com/en/insights/corporate/2023/space-explained-satellite-ground-station.html
[9] Mann, Adam. “What Is UTC?” Space.Com, 26 Apr. 2019, https://www.space.com/what-is-utc.html.
