How much is time on the Moon different from that on Earth?

Time on the Moon runs 56 microseconds faster than on Earth. This can cause a positioning error of up to 17km per day.

A research team from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (USA) calculated the relative speed of time on the surface of the Moon, the Earth and the center of mass of the Solar System - the place where the planets, satellites and stars in the Solar System orbit.

Future missions to the Moon will require Coordinated Lunar Time (CLT) - (Image: NASA).

They calculated that time on the surface of the Moon passes 0.0000575 seconds faster per day than on the surface of Earth. Roughly speaking, it would take 100,000 days (or about 274 years) for a person on the Moon to age 5.75 seconds faster than a person on Earth.

According to theoretical physicist Bijunath Patla, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US, the reason this happens is because the Moon's movement compared to our movement makes the clock run slower than Earth's standards.

However, the Moon's lower gravity causes the clock to run faster. "These are two conflicting effects , and the result is a difference of about 56 microseconds per day ," Patla said.

While the 56 microsecond difference is incredibly small by human standards, it is crucial for space missions that require high precision, as well as ensuring communication between the Earth and the Moon.

'When it comes to navigation, a 56 microsecond delay in a day between a clock on the Moon and one on Earth is a big difference ,' said Cheryl Gramling, a systems engineer at NASA.

It will be years or decades before the Moon has enough humans and robots to require this level of precision, but scientists and engineers have already recognized the importance of establishing a standard lunar time.

Without this calculation, future lunar exploration missions could face significant problems, according to IFLScience on July 10.

The time difference between the Earth and the Moon is crucial for space missions that require high precision (Photo: Getty).

There is currently no unified time zone on Earth's satellites. This is a problem for NASA and other space agencies as humans look to establish bases on the Moon and Mars.

Unmanned missions use the time corresponding to the origin of the spacecraft that carried out the mission, while the Apollo missions used Ground Elapsed Time (GET) - calculated from the time of launch. As the Moon becomes more crowded (with robots and then possibly humans), a number of issues will arise that the US hopes to solve by establishing Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).

According to new research, establishing a lunar standard time is essential to synchronize the activities and operations of lunar landers, rovers, and orbiters. In particular, docking, takeoff, and landing of spacecraft require extremely precise timing.

Moon Time not set yet

While the new study has accurately calculated time on the Moon relative to Earth, NASA and other space agencies will need to discuss more before officially establishing Coordinated Moon Time.

Earlier in April, the head of the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) sent a memo asking NASA to work with other domestic and foreign agencies to establish a reference system using the Moon as a standard.

NASA has until the end of 2026 to establish Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) — a time reference frame that is entirely centered on the Moon.