NASA changes its mind on iPhones; says: We are giving our crews...

NASA astronauts are finally getting to bring their iPhones to work—even if that workplace happens to be 250,000 miles from Earth. Crews on the upcoming Artemis II lunar flyby and ISS mission will carry Apple’s latest smartphones, replacing decade-old cameras.NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that crews on the upcoming Crew-12 International Space Station mission and the historic Artemis II lunar flyby will carry modern smartphones, including Apple iPhones, into space. “We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world,” Isaacman wrote on X.The move means Artemis II astronauts —set to become the first humans to fly around the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972—will document the journey with pocket-sized phone cameras instead of bulky Nikon DSLRs from 2016 and GoPros that are nearly a decade old.

Isaacman takes aim at NASA’s outdated approval process

But this isn’t just about better photos. Isaacman framed the decision as part of a broader push to cut through NASA’s notoriously slow hardware qualification process. Getting any device flight-certified involves radiation testing, battery thermal checks, vacuum and vibration tests, and outgassing evaluations—layers of requirements that often keep modern tech grounded for years.“We challenged long-standing processes and qualified modern hardware for spaceflight on an expedited timeline,” Isaacman said, adding that this “operational urgency” would benefit future science missions on the Moon and in orbit.

Smartphones have been to space before—sort of

This won’t technically be the first time a smartphone has reached orbit. Two iPhone 4 units flew aboard the final Space Shuttle mission in 2011, though they were barely used. Astronauts on private missions, including Isaacman’s own Polaris flight, also carried personal devices. But ISS crews have largely been stuck with tablets for internet access and family calls.Now, with iPhones officially cleared for spaceflight, expect some seriously upgraded lunar selfies come March.