It&#x27;s not that simple. It&#x27;s not like some video game tech tree unlock where suddenly you get access to lots of cool new stuff just because of some prior work.<p>NASA had less technology when some of this original work was done (and still does in some cases), there are budget considerations, public organization issues, political maneuvering and plenty of monopoly contracts meant to make as money as possible instead of improving technology. They&#x27;re great at what they do but they are far from an optimal organization.