This camera made it to space

NASA's Artemis 2 mission is using consumer-grade cameras for deep space photography, including two Nikon D5 DSLRs (a 2016 model available used for ~$800) and an iPhone 17 Pro Max — the first consumer smartphone certified for deep space. Four GoPros are also mounted outside the spacecraft. Photos and video are transmitted back to Earth via a laser communication system capable of 260 Mbps, roughly 100x faster than the radio systems used during Apollo. Ground stations in New Mexico and California receive the laser link, with the legacy Deep Space Network on standby as backup. The key takeaway: consumer cameras trusted by wedding photographers are now rated for deep space missions.