The European Space Agency wants to give the Moon its own time zone.

 
The idea came up during a meeting in The Netherlands last year, with participants agreeing on the idea.

For now, a moon mission runs on the time of the country that is operating the spacecraft.

Space officials say that an internationally accepted lunar time zone would make it easier for everyone, especially as more countries and private companies aim to do more work involving it.

The space organisations will consult with each other to overcome a few hurdles before they can agree on a time zone.

ESA this week said one of the topics under debate was whether a single organisation should be responsible for setting and maintaining the lunar time.

The organisation will also face considerable technical issues — including that clocks on the Moon run faster than on Earth, gaining around 56 microseconds a day.