Should the Moon have its own time zone?

No, this isn’t a question we thought of in our silly goose hat this morning – it’s a real debate being had by scientists as we speak. And don’t just take our word for it: On Monday, the European Space Agency said space organizations around the world are currently brainstorming the best possible way to keep time on the Moon.

🕰🌕 Why it matters: Each past lunar mission has used the time of the country operating the spacecraft. But much like the honeymoon phase in relationships, this arrangement can only last for so long – as more and more missions reach different areas of the Moon’s surface and start communicating with each other, some sort of standardization needs to be introduced, per ESA officials.

Though what that would actually look like is unclear. The international team looking into lunar time has begun debating whether a single organization should set and maintain time on the Moon, and whether that time should be kept independent from Earth or synchronized.

The challenges aren’t just bureaucratic, either – there are also technical issues to consider. Each day in the Moon’s equatorial region is 29.5 Earth days long, including a freezing two-week lunar night. And analog clocks run slightly faster on the Moon than on Earth due to the reduced gravity; they also tick even more rapidly in lunar orbit than on the surface.

🤔 Bottom line: Exploration has been a key driver of improved timekeeping throughout human history, leading to new innovations like pendulum clocks, time zones, and wristwatches. Up next? Only time will tell😉.