The Artemis II mission not only marks the return of astronauts beyond Earth's orbit after more than half a century; it also marks an unexpected milestone: This is the first time NASA has taken the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max on a crewed lunar missionThese phones are not part of the ship's critical systems, but they have become the focus of many of the images already circulating on social media.
Inside the Orion capsule, The four astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen - pass around the iPhone while floating in microgravity as if they were in their living room, only more than 400.000 kilometers from Earth. The fact that a commercial mobile phone can travel so far, and is even authorized by NASA, illustrates the extent to which consumer technology has infiltrated space exploration.
From Nikon's monopoly to the leap into smartphones
For decades, the only cameras authorized on NASA manned missions have been carefully adapted professional models. Nikon has been the almost exclusive benchmark, with modified bodies and lenses designed to withstand radiation, extreme temperature changes, and microgravity.The last to receive the green light was the Nikon Z9, a high-end mirrorless camera that is part of the standard equipment.
That very restrictive policy had a clear explanation: Any device that enters a manned spacecraft must pass a very demanding certification processIt must be demonstrated that the battery does not pose a fire risk, that the materials do not fragment in case of impact or breakage, that there are no loose parts that could float away, and that the device does not interfere with communication and navigation systems.
So far, NASA had not bothered to certify a modern smartphone for prolonged use in deep spaceNot because it was impossible, but because the priority has always been hardware designed specifically for missions. The policy change with Artemis II breaks that inertia and opens the door to more consumer-grade technology onboard.
At the same time, the agency has been relaxing its stance thanks to the previous experience of private companies. SpaceX had been allowing the use of mobile phones and tablets on its crewed flights for almost a decade.with more flexible safety frameworks. That trajectory has served as a reference for NASA to finally decide to take the step of a lunar mission as well.
An iPhone on its way to the Moon: which model is traveling and what it's being used for
The NASA administrator announced in February that the Artemis II crew I would fly with state-of-the-art smartphones to capture personal moments and share inspiring images. with the public. Shortly after, Apple confirmed that this would be the first time an iPhone would be “fully certified for extended use in orbit and beyond.”
Videos and photos released from the cockpit have allowed the model to be identified: This is the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max in silver, Apple's current flagship model.NASA gave each astronaut a terminal during the pre-launch quarantine, and at least one of them was stored in the leg pocket of the flight suits before takeoff.
On board, The iPhones travel in airplane mode and connect only to the Orion capsule's internal Wi-Fi network.This network is responsible for sending photos and videos to the spacecraft's communications system, which in turn relays the data to ground stations. Obviously, neither 5G nor any other mobile network reaches far enough to provide service between Earth and the Moon.
The function of these phones is very specific: They act as personal cameras to take photos and record video both inside the cabin and outside the spacecraftThey cannot connect to the internet or use Bluetooth, and they are in no way a substitute for scientific cameras or certified mission systems. They are, essentially, the space version of the mobile phone that everyone carries in their pocket.
In the first few hours of flight, an onboard camera captured the scene in which An iPhone 17 Pro Max was floating in microgravityThe spacecraft was transferred from Jeremy Hansen's hands to Christina Koch, with Wiseman and Glover watching and laughing. It's the kind of everyday moment that, until now, hasn't been seen so naturally on lunar flights.
Unprecedented images from lunar orbit and beyond the magnetosphere
Artemis II is the first manned mission to venture away from low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972The spacecraft launched on April 1, 2026, from the Kennedy Space Center and is scheduled to complete a journey of about ten days, including a flyby of the far side of the Moon before returning to Earth.
On that journey, the Orion capsule will carry its four crew members Beyond the magnetosphere, the "shield" that protects Earth from much of the space radiationIt is estimated that the mission could surpass the historical record for distance from our planet, set by Apollo 13, which would make the fact that some of the images are taken with a commercial mobile phone even more symbolic.
From the Orion window, Astronauts are using iPhones to capture the upper stage of the rocket that propelled them, the curvature of the Earth, and the spacecraft's maneuvers. On their way to the Moon, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen have documented with their phones some of the separation and trajectory change operations that will serve as a rehearsal for future lunar landing missions.
NASA insists that the priority of these smartphones is also human: allow the crew to record special moments for their families and offer the public a closer look at life inside the spacecraft. This more personal dimension fits with the agency's strategy of bringing space exploration closer to the public through channels like X, YouTube, and live broadcasts.
For the European audience, accustomed to watching nightly releases from the comfort of their sofas, See how an iPhone 17 Pro captures the Moon from the window of a real spacecraft It adds a peculiar point of closeness: the same lens used to photograph a dinner party or a vacation is also capturing deep space; many amateur photographers use apps for sky tracking to complement those images.
How to certify an iPhone to travel to the Moon
Although it may seem like a simple "curious detail", Approving a smartphone for a manned flight involves a complex technical process.NASA's standard procedure for any new onboard device consists, according to the agency itself, of four main phases.
First, The team is presented to a security panel that analyzes its design, materials, and potential weaknesses.Risks such as glass breakage under microgravity conditions, the presence of moving parts, the resistance of the casing, and the behavior of the battery in a closed environment are being studied.
A detailed list of potential threats is then compiled, ranging from electromagnetic interference to the generation of fragments that may float around the cabin. In microgravity, even a shard of glass can be dangerous if it gets into a ventilation system or hits an astronaut.That's why accessories and cases are also checked.
The third stage of the process defines the mitigation measures: how the device will be held, when it can be used, and under what limitationsIn the case of Artemis II, many everyday objects, including iPhones, are secured to the spacecraft's surfaces using Velcro, preventing them from floating freely when not in use.
Lastly, NASA conducts tests to verify that the proposed solutions work in practice.This includes thermal testing, vibration testing, and simulations of prolonged use. Only after passing all these steps did the iPhone 17 Pro Max receive the green light to accompany the crew throughout the mission.
Apple, for its part, has clarified that It has not intervened in the certification process nor has it signed a specific marketing agreement with NASA.Cupertino merely acknowledges that this is the first time one of its mobile phones has been authorized for extended use "in orbit and beyond," a nuance that underlines the historic nature of Artemis II.
iPhones join Nikon and GoPro: the rest of the imaging equipment
Although the mobile phone is currently getting all the media attention, The photographic arsenal of Artemis II goes far beyond smartphonesAlso on board the Orion capsule are two Nikon D5 cameras, originally introduced in 2016, and four GoPro Hero 11 cameras, launched in 2022, designed to capture very dynamic shots both inside and outside the spacecraft.
Nikons are still the reference cameras for technical and scientific documentationwith reinforced sensors and components adapted to the space environment. GoPros, on the other hand, are used for action shots, close-up views from windows, and areas where a bulkier camera wouldn't make sense.
The addition of the iPhone 17 Pro Max does not replace these systems, but rather complements them. The phone acts as a consumer camera capable of offering different types of framing and a different kind of spontaneity.especially in scenes of coexistence, moments of rest or small gestures between crew members.
This mix of professional equipment and everyday devices also reflects the evolution of photography in general. What could previously only be done with highly specialized cameras can now be covered, at least in part, with a high-end mobile phone.The big difference in Artemis II is that this convergence is taking place hundreds of thousands of kilometers from Earth.
A change in philosophy at NASA regarding personal devices
The permission for astronauts to carry the iPhone 17 Pro on Artemis II is not an isolated gesture, but part of a broader update to NASA protocolsFrom 2026, the agency has opened the door to the use of personal smartphones and tablets in certain missions, provided they pass the corresponding security filter.
This line had already begun to be seen in flights such as Crew-12 or in some private missions associated with American companies, but it had not yet been applied in a lunar journey. With Artemis II, this new policy is visibly launched in an expedition that is under the spotlight of the entire world., including the European audience, which is very attentive to the return to the Moon.
According to the agency, the objective is twofold: on the one hand, improve the psychological well-being of the crew by providing them with more familiar tools to document their experience; and to have more varied visual material available to bring the missions closer to the general public. In practice, this translates into greater flexibility to approve "modern hardware" in less time.
The NASA administrator has argued that This urgency in the processes will be key if a sustained presence on the Moon is to be established.with regular shipments of new components, habitats, and vehicles. Validating consumer technology quickly, without sacrificing safety, will be an important part of that process.
In Europe, where interest in the Artemis program is also high, this shift is interpreted as a logical move if the aim is to... normalize life in space and move towards future long-duration missionsboth lunar and, in the long term, Martian.
An ordinary moment on an extraordinary journey
When Artemis II completes its journey and the four astronauts return to Earth, There will be photos and videos recorded with an iPhone more than 400.000 kilometers from home.It is a seemingly minor detail within a mission full of technical challenges, but it has an undeniable symbolic weight.
This decade's lunar exploration is being documented simultaneously with scientific cameras worth tens of thousands of euros and with the same type of mobile phone that many people use dailyThis coexistence between the exceptional and the everyday helps the Moon to stop being seen as something distant and abstract and to be perceived as a destination that is part, in some way, of our digital life.
Seeing a crew heading to lunar orbit playing for a few seconds with an iPhone 17 Pro in zero gravity doesn't change the engineering of the mission, but it does change the way we tell and remember it. Artemis II will be studied for its technical milestones, but it will also be remembered as the first time a commercial smartphone traveled so far to show us space from such a human perspective..