World News for Students of English

08-04-2024 07:00

The White House asked NASA to create a new time system for the Moon. It will be called Coordinated Lunar Time (CLT).

Time moves faster on the Moon than on Earth because of the Moon’s different gravity. It is 58.7 microseconds every day. This difference seems small but it can cause problems for spacecraft. The US government wants this new time to help coordinate efforts to reach the Moon, both from the US and private companies. NASA has until 2026 to make it work. The White House said it is important to have international rules because more countries and companies are trying to go to the Moon.

Professor Catherine Heymans is an astronomer. She explains why it is hard to know the time on the Moon because of Einstein’s theories and how gravity affects time. She said it is essential to have one standard time for everyone going to the Moon.

Difficult words: gravity (a force which holds space objects close to each other), microsecond (one-millionth of a second), coordinate (to make something or someone work together well).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.