White House head of science policy releases public letter.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Advisor, Arati Prabhakar, released a letter directing NASA to create a new time zone for the moon this week. She explained the necessity of the new time zone and the difficulties that will arise from developing consistent time markers for separate astronomical objects.
“Due to general and special relativity, the length of a second defined on Earth will appear distorted to an observer under different gravitational conditions or to an observer moving at a high relative velocity,” Advisor Prabhakar wrote. Because the moon has less gravity than Earth, time moves 58.7 microseconds faster there.
Standardizing time for the moon would also make space flight operations safer, according to the letter. Advisor Prabhakar wrote that the new time zone is “fundamental to the scientific discovery, economic development, and international collaboration.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Advisor Prabhakar to be led by the Lord in her science and technology recommendations.
- For NASA officials as they address the creation of a time zone for the moon.
Sources: Reuters, The Hill
