Mission
NovaMoon
Proposed, run by ESA. Window as our sources word it: No date in our sources.
At a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA |
| Status | Proposed |
| Window | No date in our sources |
| Address we link | arxiv.org |
| Partners named in our sources | None |
| Documents on this site | None yet |
| Papers on this site | 2 readings |
| Facts on this page | 5, each with its own source |
Key facts
- NovaMoon is proposed as a scientific and navigation payload for ESA's Argonaut lander. [1]
- It is designed as a lunar-based local differential, geodetic and timing station for the Moon's south polar region. [1]
- The payload combines laser retroreflectors, VLBI transmitters, navigation signal receivers, atomic clocks and radio links. [1]
- Its authors state that it would enable sub-metre to decimetre positioning and an accurate, stable realisation of position and time. [1]
- A trade-off analysis by one of its authors concludes that Lunar Coordinate Time is the best practical time reference on the Moon. [2]
In short
NovaMoon is a reference station proposed as a scientific and navigation payload for ESA's Argonaut lander. It is designed as a local differential, geodetic and timing station for the Moon's south polar region, carrying laser retroreflectors, atomic clocks and radio links. Our registry records no decision to fly it, no cost and no schedule, so none appear here. It is on this page because a clock on the surface is what would turn a defined lunar scale into a reading, and this is the one such station our sources describe in full.
Every clock value on this site is a model value computed from published rate figures: no lunar time scale has been realized, and nothing on this page is a reading taken from a clock on the Moon[3]. The record itself sits inthe list of missions, its operator has a record of its own in European Space Agency, and what a microsecond is worth in metres is inwhy microseconds matter.
Each point in the section below rests on a source listed at the foot of this page; where the point is our own arithmetic rather than someone else's document, it says so and the model is set out inhow we calculate lunar time.
Why time matters here
- The proposal starts from the stated need for a precise, stable and interoperable geodetic and timing infrastructure on the Moon.
- The station is designed to carry atomic clocks and to give an accurate and stable realisation of position and time for users near the lunar south pole.
- Whether or not such a station flies, every lunar clock value we publish stays a model value computed from published rates, as our methodology page explains.
Where this record connects
Operator
Papers we have read
Other missions
- Artemis IIIPlanned — 2027
- Artemis IVPlanned — 2028
- LunaNetIn development — No date in our sources
- MoonlightIn development — No date in our sources
Sources
Last verified