NASA chose an old DSLR as its primary Artemis II camera - here's why

Much has been made of the incredible images coming from the Artemis II spacecraft, but what about the camera tech that has been deemed worthy of making it aboard this momentous mission? Maybe some exotic specialist photographic hardware has been developed especially for NASA, or failing that, then surely the astronauts must be using the very latest and best equipment that the mainstream camera industry has to offer?

There are plenty of premium cameras that could potentially work well for such a special task, but NASA has a long history of trusting Nikon for its photographic requirements, so it's of little surprise NASA has again picked Nikon for Artemis II. What's more surprising is the particular Nikon camera bodies you'll find on board. Though Nikon's current flagship camera, the Z9, is present, it was apparently not NASA's primary choice, and it isn't the main camera being used for the mission. That honor goes to the D5 DSLR.

Yes, while DSLRs are almost extinct in the consumer camera market (Nikon won't be making any more, and it’s now into its third generation of mirrorless Z cameras) NASA continues to favor the classic single lens reflex camera design. This is surprising given that DSLRs are usually heavier than their mirrorless alternatives, and for a space launch every gram really does matter. What's more, NASA didn't even choose Nikon's most recent flagship DSLR, the D6 - it instead went with the preceding D5.