How NASA is building websites with just one click - Misleeading technology ads are dangerous

I was watching a Feldenkrais/Movement video on Youtube which had nothing to do with software development, programming or engineering.

An advertisement came up for "I want to join NASA.. So i’m learning JavaScript, Python and React"

I started laughing because of the of the stupidity of that ad. Not only is it stupid, but it’s wrong and misleading. If one would want to help NASA fail, then you’d probably help them fail massively by using those technologies.

First of all.. what does NASA do? NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency which focuses on building spacecrafts, robots, rovers and other variety of devices including telescopes and any technology and science related to air and space.

You knew that already, but what you probably don’t realize is that things like "javascript, python and react" have nothing to do with NASA’s objectives. Actually, I’d say that if they would be used in any spacecraft OR physical device they’d fail miserably.

What? Why?! First of all NASA needs to build HARDWARE which needs to be resilient, fault tolerant and work under a variety of constraints. This means they’d probably build embedded systems which are programmable in C and Assembly for the operating system, firmware , drivers and probably code. I’m pretty sure most projects have a linux kernel on them which again, needs C.

By adding JavaScript, Python or dear god REACT they’d complicate everything beyond recognition.

JavaScript, Python and React are.. scripting languages meant to work in the cloud NOT in an onboard computer. Although today, with the available computer power you CAN run python on a raspberry pi embedded computer so in theory it would work.

Could NASA never use JavaScript, Python or React? Well, I’m certain they’re probably using Python somewhere to analyze the data they get from missions here on earth. Or JavaScript and/Or react in their website presenting you with their findings.

Let me tell you something, you don’t need programming to work for NASA! They probably have many janitors who work there.

You’ve probably seen ads where you can build a website with just one click on a "no code" platform. But have you ever realized the complexity put into a website? Or other problems such as vendor lock in?

If you want a website.. you can build it yourself on such a platform if…​ you do it for hobby. Business like.. and you might need a specialized developer. The reasons will be discussed in a future article.

Misleading ads make people think that X correlates or causes Y when in fact we need to think deeper about the issue at hand. It’s the same way when building applications. You need to find someone who actually UNDERSTANDS the process, the architectural constraints and potential shortcomings of a technology and not just jump into the frenzy and start building things.

Looking to build an awesome web application or need guidance? I can offer you a free 1 hour consult. Contact me for the details!