So, apparently keeping time on the moon is a bigger headache than dealing with a toddler who refuses to take a nap. NASA, the folks who brought you moon landings and space shuttles, have decided that simply looking at your watch won’t cut it when you’re on the lunar surface.
Picture this: astronauts floating around in their space suits, trying to figure out if it’s time for lunch or time to fix that pesky moon buggy again. It’s like a cosmic episode of “The Great British Bake Off,” but instead of baking cakes, they’re trying to bake their brains with all this time zone nonsense.
And let’s not forget about the longer days on the moon. I mean, who wouldn’t want a few extra hours of sunlight to work on their moon tan? But seriously, NASA is taking this timekeeping business very seriously. They’re not just creating a lunar time zone, they’re creating a whole new time scale. It’s like they’re playing God with time itself.
I can just imagine the conversations at NASA headquarters now.
“Hey, Bob, what time is it on the moon?”
“Oh, it’s about 3.4567 lunar hours past sunrise.”
“Great, thanks. I’ll mark it on my moon calendar.”
But in all seriousness, this new time scale is actually pretty important for future missions to the moon. Imagine if astronauts from different countries showed up at different times because they couldn’t agree on what time it was. It would be chaos.
So, kudos to NASA for taking this timekeeping business so seriously. Who knew that keeping time on the moon would be such a monumental task? Maybe they should just stick a giant sundial up there and call it a day.
But hey, if you’re into all this space-time continuum stuff, sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover a whole new dimension where time doesn’t even exist. Or maybe you’ll just get a good laugh out of all this lunar time zone drama. Either way, you’ll be in for a wild ride through the universe of scientific advancements and more.
Just remember, time waits for no one. Especially not on the moon.
Source: CNN
URL: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/30/science/lunar-time-zone-scale-nasa-artemis-scn/index.html