The Artemis 2 mission has been underway for several days. Humans are orbiting the moon, gathering information, and thus preparing for a future lunar landing.
Some tech media outlets ran sensationalist reports claiming that the Artemis 2 mission was using outdated technology. The information was presented in such a way that, as a tech enthusiast, one can only react with horror and ask, “Why?” followed by clicking on the article’s headline. And just like that, you’ve fallen for it.
The articles explained, with varying degrees of clarity, that space travel can only utilize proven and reliable technology for its missions into space. Some articles even omitted any mention of “Technology Readiness Levels” (TRLs).
What TRLs are is well explained on Wikipedia and the NASA website. Essentially, they serve to classify the maturity level of a technology. This quickly clarifies whether a technology is suitable for space travel.
This also quickly explains why space travel uses older technology. A technology only reaches a certain level of maturity after a certain period of time. This period cannot be shortened or made to pass more quickly.
TRLs also exist in relation to software, where they are referred to as “software readiness levels” (SRLs).