UT date -- column label: DATE

Dates can be read by the programs in a variety of formats. To avoid ambiguity, use the first three letters of the month name instead of numerical month designations. The UT date should be stored in a C*16 (or shorter) string. The usual format in ephemerides is that shown above: year, month, day; 11 characters are enough in this case. However, the month, day, and year can be placed in any desired order.