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OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

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Re: OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

#31

Post by inglor_cz »

implements wrote: post #22

A) Is this an April Fools joke? B) If it’s not an AFJ then it sounds like an incredibly unnecessary set of potential bug creating code changes for a security focused operating system!

On the question A, I am torn. It might be or it might be not.

That said, there already are Linux machines operating on Mars and we can expect the number of computers working there to increase substantially within 10-20 years. That means that BSD and other OSes are going to have to implement some kind of Martian timekeeping anyway.

So perhaps it is better to start now, when the low-hanging bugs can be ironed out without accidentally bricking an important piece of machinery on another planet.

Re: OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

#32

Post by pndy »

otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #28
pndy wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't matter till we'll be actually able to settle down on Mars permanently, I guess and differentiating from Mars local time and its time zones will be an issue (and all parties involved in colonization will agree that Airy-0 crater will remain the 0° longitude equivalent as proposed by IAU). Beside, the perspective matters - for people on Earth it can be still UTC, for those on Mars it can be whatever term the…

> It doesn't matter till we'll be actually able to settle down on Mars permanently Mars is the least useful planetary body in the Solar System for human colonization, so that time may well be "never".

It's the best thing we have in our neighborhood beside the Moon; Venus is easier to reach but not very welcoming when it comes to atmospheric pressure and temperatures.

Re: OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

#33

Post by inglor_cz »

m463 wrote: post #17

It's interesting that time and date semantics are based on the rotation and orbits of planets. A truly universal time should probably be based on the orbits or other oscillations of atoms, possibly away from a gravity well and at a precise temperature.

For ancient people who constructed the first timekeeping systems, observable changes in the environment (light/dark, frost/rain) were of crucial importance. Sheer cultural inertia since then means that we still use Roman letters and Babylonian time units. The cost of change would be too high, not to mention the risk of some countries refusing to go along. Well, almost certainty, not a risk.

A new "truly universal time" could end up, paradoxically, as a niche thing only used by hardcore enthusiasts, much like all the attempts to create an artificial universal language (volapuk, esperanto). Heck, we could not even get the whole world to adapt SI units of measurement.

Re: OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

#35

Post by young_unixer »

anyfoo wrote: post #14
shpx wrote: post #3

Naming something that only works on one planet " Universal Coordinated Time" was a mistake.

This has caused so many mistakes and accidents, you’d get the impression the people who came up with that name have never left their solar system.

"This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."

Re: OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

#37

Post by zokier »

blablabla123 wrote: post #30
devwastaken wrote: post #25

How exactly would you ensure nanosecond accuracy of time between earth and mars? Does Nasa just run ntp back to earth? Or really expensive atomic clocks made out of special metals?

Assuming this is not an April Fools joke, I guess you wouldn't. Probably during travel measurable relativistic time difference has already set in and the nanosecond sync to earth might already differ by that. (If you manage to sync with ns precision anyways, that would be more an earth-like time/clock :)) Also days are a bit longer on Mars so it would be possible to keep in sync with local days. https://en.wikipedia.…

I don't think relativistic effects are that great of a problem; I'd imagine that we know the orbital and gravitational characteristics well enough to do pretty decent compensation for relativity. That being said, nanosecond accuracy might be out of our reach, considering that it's bit of a challenge to get that level of accuracy on even on Earth.

Also shipping atomic clocks to space is not all that outrageous idea. Few years ago NASA lauched Deep Space Atomic Clock[1], which is exactly what it sounds like. Also modern "chip scale" atomic clocks[2] are pretty small and low power, so I would not be surprised to see those in future missions.

[1] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/clock/index.html

[2] https://www.microsemi.com/product-directory/embedded-clocks-...

Re: OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

#38

Post by restalis »

pndy wrote: post #26
shpx wrote: post #3

Naming something that only works on one planet " Universal Coordinated Time" was a mistake.

It doesn't matter till we'll be actually able to settle down on Mars permanently, I guess and differentiating from Mars local time and its time zones will be an issue (and all parties involved in colonization will agree that Airy-0 crater will remain the 0° longitude equivalent as proposed by IAU). Beside, the perspective matters - for people on Earth it can be still UTC, for those on Mars it can be whatever term the…

I understand the appeal of having time tracking systems related to easy noticeable celestial bodies movement, but when such enlargement to a multi-planetary context happen, it makes more sense to think of an entirely new system altogether. Even more so considering that almost everyone relies on tool based time tracking for their activity instead of looking up at the moon or the sun. The first direction towards a solution that comes to mind is about a natural-units derived system, like one based on Planck time or something.

Re: OpenBSD adds support for Coordinated Mars Time

#39

Post by otabdeveloper4 »

pndy wrote: post #32
otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It doesn't matter till we'll be actually able to settle down on Mars permanently Mars is the least useful planetary body in the Solar System for human colonization, so that time may well be "never".

It's the best thing we have in our neighborhood beside the Moon; Venus is easier to reach but not very welcoming when it comes to atmospheric pressure and temperatures.

You don't need to land on Venus' surface; airships in the atmosphere are the closest thing to Earth in the Solar System.

The problem is that there is nothing useful on Mars and its location sucks. Any other planetary body makes more economic sense.

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