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Why scientists say we need to send clocks to the moon — soonedition.cnn.com/2024/05/30/science/lunar-time-zone-scale-nasa-artemis-scn/index.html
148 sats \ 4 comments \ @NovaRift 14 Jan science
Scientists aren’t just looking to create a new “time zone” on the moon, as some headlines have suggested, said Cheryl Gramling, the lunar position, navigation, and timing and standards lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Rather, the space agency and its partners are looking to create an entirely new “time scale,” or system of measurement that accounts for that fact that seconds tick by faster on the moon, Gramling noted. The agency’s goal is to work with international partners to set up a new method of tracking time, specifically for the moon, that space-faring nations agree to observe.
A recent memo from the White House also directed NASA to map out its plans for this new time scale by December 31, calling it “foundational” to renewed US efforts to explore the lunar surface. The memo also asks that NASA implement such a system by the end of 2026, the same year the space agency is aiming to return astronauts to the moon for the first time in five decades.
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35 sats \ 2 replies \ @south_korea_ln 14 Jan
On the lunar surface, a single Earth day would be roughly 56 microseconds shorter than on our home planet — a tiny number that can lead to significant inconsistencies over time.
[...]
“The very cheap oscillators may be off by milliseconds or even 10s of milliseconds,” he added. “And that is important because for navigation purposes — we need to have the clocks synchronized to 10s of nanoseconds.”
Even on Earth, GPS navigation systems need to account for these relativistic effects when communicating with the satellites.
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69 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln 14 Jan
where
  • : mass and radius of Earth
  • : mass and radius of the Moon
  • G: gravitational constant
  • : speed of light
  • : proper time interval far from the massive body
  • : time interval closer to the massive body
from math import sqrt

G = 6.674e-11
c = 3e8 

M_E = 5.972e24
r_E = 6_371e3

M_M = 7.342e22
r_M = 1_737e3

factor_E = sqrt(1 - (2 * G * M_E) / (r_E * c**2))
factor_M = sqrt(1 - (2 * G * M_M) / (r_M * c**2))

time_dilation_ratio = factor_M / factor_E

day_in_seconds = 24 * 60 * 60
time_difference = (1 - time_dilation_ratio) * day_in_seconds

print(time_dilation_ratio, time_difference)
This gives 57 microseconds.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @NovaRift OP 14 Jan
True. Tiny differences will cause major problems in navigation and communication. Maybe they could set up atomic clocks on the Moon or sync them with Earth somehow to keep everything accurate?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @LowK3y19 14 Jan
Take the crypto with u to the moon
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