Scientists have confirmed that TIME passes faster on the Moon than on Earth – and this has implications for future space missions.
Since the Moon has one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, this affects the speed at which time moves.
And according to researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the space body appears to be 57 millionths of a second ahead of its parent planet.
To put things into perspective, since the last time humans were on the moon in 1972, it has moved just 1.1 seconds ahead of us.
“Atomic clocks on the moon will tick at a different rate than clocks on.” Earthexplained Kevin Coggins, Nasasenior communications and navigation officer.
“It makes sense that when you go to another body, like the Moon or Mars, they each get their own heartbeat.”
Millionths of a second may seem insignificant, but the difference is more important than ever as NASA prepares to resume manned missions to the moon.
The agency aims to send astronauts to the satellite by 2026 as part of its Artemis missions, which will explore possible sites for lunar bases.
NASA wants to use this permanent presence on the moon as a starting point for expeditions to other destinations in our solar system, including Mars.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration tasked NASA and other federal agencies with designing a uniform time reference system for the moon.
Disagreement, however, is already approaching.
NASA’s figure is just a step ahead of the 56.02 microseconds calculated by researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technique.
Not a single result has been peer-reviewed, so the agencies have some work to do.
The final decision must be signed by a coalition of agencies and international bodies.
Two key players – the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and the International Astronomical Union – will meet to kick-start this process. next Moon.
The development comes amid other discoveries, including growing evidence that Earth’s days are getting longer.
Scientists generally agree that this number is somewhere between 1.7 and 1.8 milliseconds per century.
This is a one minute increase every 3.3 million years – meaning it will take 200 million years for another hour to be added.
The length of Earth’s days has changed throughout history. A billion years ago, there were only about 19 hours in the day.
The moon – our nearest neighbor explained
Here’s what you need to know…
- The moon is a natural satellite – a space body that orbits a planet
- It is the only natural satellite of Earth and is the fifth largest in the solar system
- The Moon measures 2,158 miles in diameter, roughly 0.27 times the diameter of Earth
- Temperatures on the moon vary wildly. NASA explains, “Temperatures near the lunar equator can reach as high as 250°F (121°C) during daylight hours and drop as low as -208°F (-133°C) after dark. Permanent shadows remain in deep craters near the lunar poles the surface is even colder—NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has measured temperatures as low as -410°F (-246°C).
- Experts assumed the Moon was another planet until Nicolaus Copernicus outlined his theory of our solar system in 1543.
- It was finally placed in a “class” after Galileo discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610
- The Moon is believed to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago
- The strength of its gravitational field is about one sixth of Earth’s gravity
- The Earth and Moon have “synchronous rotation” which means we always see the same side of the Moon – hence the phrase “dark side of the Moon”
- The Moon’s surface is actually dark, but appears bright in the sky due to its reflective earth
- During a solar eclipse, the Moon covers the Sun almost completely. Both objects appear similar in size in the sky because the Sun is 400 times larger and beyond
- The first spacecraft reached the Moon in 1959 as part of the Soviet Union’s Lunar Program
- The first manned orbital mission was NASA’s Apollo 8 in 1968
- And the first man landing on the moon was in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission
A study published last month in Nature found evidence that the planet’s inner core has changed direction and is spinning more slowly.
Scientists believe it has been moving more slowly than the Earth’s mantle and crust since 2010, rather than faster.
And while it could affect the length of a day on Earth, it would be imperceptible in a lifetime—just a thousandth of a second.