NASA scientists calculate time difference between Earth and Moon

With constant advancements in the space and technology field, and more private, commercial and multinational spaceflight providers and flyers entering the market, the human interaction with space is only going to increase in the future.

In a groundbreaking discovery, NASA scientists have been able to figure out how much faster time moves on Moon compared to the Earth.

In a paper published by NASA scientists has quantified the time difference between Earth and Moon as it establishes that time on the Moon relative to Earth moves 0.0000575 seconds (57.50 microseconds) faster.

This discovery is a crutial step in establishing the LTC - Lunar Coordinated Time, for which the US Office of Science and Technology Policy had set a 2026 deadline. The concept of LTC is similar to Earth's Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).

The study bats for the need of a measure of Lunar Time (LT) as it states that this is essential "for synchronizing activities and operations on the Moon."

It states that having a common time refernce will allow all units to coordinate effectively in case of mission that involve landers, rovers and orbiters.

Apart from this, the study asserts that accurate timing is also crucial for communication between Earth and lunar mission.

This comes at a time when India is excelling in its lunar missions. Ex-NASA astronaut Steve Smith recently lauded the country as he said that India's 'audacious' goals and relentless mindset were pivotal in achieving its lunar mission by surpassing bigwigs like Russia, Japan and the US.

Smith was referring to the country's Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon last year, making India the first nation to successfully land a spacecraft in the lunar South Pole region.

In the coming decade, more people will go to space than ever before as human spaceflight enters a new era. NASA, the European Space Agency and other governmental agencies are partnering to develop crewed missions beyond the Moon.

At the same time, these agencies are collaborating with private companies using new technologies to drive down the price of space exploration.

(With inputs from The Conversation)