WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is releasing some final space policy documents focused on cislunar activities and technology development.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) published Dec. 18 a policy memorandum directing the development of a cislunar reference system needed for future navigation on and around the moon as well as a cislunar science and technology action plan.
The memorandum directs the federal government, led by NASA, to develop “common reference systems” for the moon, providing an implementation plan to the White House by the end of 2026. Such reference systems provide a means to determine position and direction and the ability to convert them to other reference systems, like Earth-centered ones.
“A shared understanding of reference systems at the Moon is essential for safe navigation, scientific discovery, and commercial activity, just as it is at Earth,” Arati Prabhakar, director of OSTP, stated in the memo. “Now is the time for the U.S. to lead a coordinated approach to establishing reference systems at the Moon, while these and complementary foundational standards for Cislunar activities are being defined and infrastructure at the Moon is being built.”
The cislunar reference frame memo follows up on a similar memo from OSTP in April directing the work on a timing system for the moon. That time standard must account for the effects of general relativity that would cause a clock on the lunar surface to lose nearly 60 microseconds per day compared to a clock on Earth, creating navigation and other challenges.
NASA would lead the development of this new cislunar reference system, working with the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Interior, State and Transportation. The memo also calls on the agencies to work with the international community on the proposal.
OSTP also released a 15-page National Cislunar Science and Technology Action Plan. That plan is intended to implement a cislunar…
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