Time passes on Earth and other planets differently and this is not a science fiction idea. Space portal.com speakhow scientists calculate the time difference between Earth and Mars and how this will help future space settlers.
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology calculated the time difference between Mars and Earth, taking into account Mars' gravity (five times weaker than on Earth), the speed and eccentricity of its orbit. In total, the institute's staff came to the conclusion that time passes 477 millionths of a second faster on Mars than on Earth – and Einstein's theory of relativity is responsible for this.
For context, relativity describes how the passage of time can be perceived differently depending on the context, influenced by speed and gravitational fields. Science calls this phenomenon time dilation. He is perhaps best known for the twin paradox. Imagine that in a pair of twins, one is flying on a rocket moving almost at the speed of light, while the other remains on Earth. When they return home, the twin in space will be younger than the one remaining on the planet, because time moves slower the closer the object gets to the speed of light. By the same logic, time lasts near a black hole because its gravity is much stronger than Earth's.
Since Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth, it orbits the star at a slower speed and this automatically leads to the elongation of time. But because Mars has a more elliptical orbit, it speeds up a bit as it gets closer to the Sun and slows down as it gets farther away.
Additionally, Mars' distance from the gravitational field of the Sun and the Earth-Moon system may influence the progression of the Martian year. So to an astronaut on Mars, a second would be considered a second, but to an observer on Earth, a second on Mars lasts a little less than a second on Earth. In total, the difference of 477 microseconds can be shortened or increased by 226 microseconds depending on the position of Mars.
Although time dilation between Mars and Earth is not as severe as on relativistic spacecraft or on the event horizon of a black hole, it is enough to hinder precise navigation and debugging of future communication systems. When colonizing Mars, analog 5G communication must be accurate to one-tenth of a microsecond. Calculating time zone differences not only helps with navigation, but also allows synchronization of communication networks between planets.
