- NASA now allows personal smartphones in space and the first mission of its kind has been launched
- Video shows Artemis II crew launching iPhone in zero gravity
- Other videos also offer a glimpse of astronauts using iPhones.
It’s a big day for NASA as the Artemis II mission has launched, which will send four astronauts on a trip around the moon, a trip that will take them further from Earth than anyone in more than 50 years. But this, along with the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station, is also the first time that NASA astronauts have been allowed to carry personal smartphones.
That means it’s the first time that iPhone and Android phones will be taken to space on NASA missions, and we’re already seeing some of the fun being had with them.
In a series of posts on X, @OwenSparks shared some short clips of the team using iPhones. In one, an iPhone is thrown at someone in zero gravity, while in another, one of the astronauts, Christina Koch, is filming Victor Glover piloting the spacecraft.
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The Artemis crew launching their iPhones, floating in zero gravity 😂 pic.twitter.com/mjghv2fz1IApril 2, 2026
There’s also a third clip, showing iPhones stuffed into the crew’s suits before takeoff.
What comes next is more exciting.
But as fun as these clips are, I’m more excited for what’s coming next: With this mission taking the crew around the moon, we could soon have close-up shots of the moon from the same phones most of us use every day, so they’ll be interesting to watch.
And smartphones can also be used on future missions, so Artemis II won’t be the last time we see them in space.
Furthermore, although it seems that this mission has favored the iPhone, it is likely that sooner or later an astronaut will show us what an Android phone is capable of also on a trip to space.
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