NASA Gave Artemis II Astronauts Modified iPhones for the Moon
Artemis II crew carried smartphones to space — modified iPhones for photos and video, but zero internet access.
NASA did something it almost never does: it let astronauts bring smartphones on a mission. The Artemis II moon crew flew with modified iPhones designed specifically for capturing photos and videos during the historic lunar flyby.
It marks one of the first times the space agency has approved smartphones for spaceflight. The devices were customized for the mission environment, giving astronauts a familiar tool for documenting their journey around the moon.
Before you get too excited — no, they couldn't doom-scroll in lunar orbit. The iPhones had no internet connectivity. No Wi-Fi, no cellular, no posting selfies from 240,000 miles out. Strictly camera duty.
It's a small but notable shift in how NASA approaches consumer hardware in space. Smartphones are ubiquitous on Earth. Getting them flight-certified for a moon mission is a different game entirely.