Coordinated Lunar Time

Coined by NASA on 2 April 2024.

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Coordinated Lunar Time

1. (space science, neologism) A new lunar time zone standard that the White House has directed NASA to establish by 2026. [from 2024]
   • 2024 April 2, Diana Ramirez-Simon, “Moon Standard Time? Nasa to create lunar-centric time reference system”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Nasa has until the end of 2026 to set up what is being called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).

   • 2024 April 4, “Coordinated Lunar Time: The U.S. wants the moon to have its own time zone”, in Morning Edition, spoken by Steve Inskeep, via NPR:

     The United States wants the moon to have a time zone. Along with Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific times, we could have Coordinated Lunar Time. The moon's gravity means a super-precise atomic clock would run ever so slightly faster than on Earth. Over years, that difference would grow, complicating calculations between spacecraft and a lunar base.

   • 2025 May 5, John Loeffler, “What time is it on the moon? US House space committee wants a standard lunar clock”, in Space.com‎^[2], archived from the original on 13 May 2025:

     First, the new Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) needs to be translatable into Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); it needs to be accurate enough for precision space navigation and communication;