LIVING IN LUNAR TIME

WITH HUMAN ACTIVITY SET TO RAMP UP,  THE MOON IS GETTING ITS OWN TIME ZONE

- DAMIEN MARTIN

Is there Daylight Savings Time on the moon? Until recently, this might be a question a curious child might ask, or an odd sort of brainteaser. But as humans get ready to spend a good deal of time on and around the moon, the question of a lunar time zone gains importance. Previous lunar missions have been controlled from Earth, with terrestrial command centers guiding operations. But by as early as late 2024, parts of the Lunar Gateway space station might be in orbit around the moon. It will serve as a base for lunar missions such as Artemis III, which will return humans to the moon’s surface, perhaps in 2025. Gateway will also serve as a base for deep-space missions to Mars and beyond.

With all that going on, there will be a semipermanent human presence on or at least near the moon, and the European Space Agency has decided the moon needs a special lunar time zone.

“As dozens of missions will be operating on and around the Moon and needing to communicate together and fix their positions independently from Earth, this new era will require its own time,” the ESA says.

COMMUNICATION & POSITIONING