- NASA now allows personal smartphones in space and the first such mission has launched
- Video shows Artemis II crew launching iPhone into zero gravity
- Other videos also give a glimpse of astronauts using iPhones
It’s a big day for NASA, as the Artemis II mission has launched, sending four astronauts on a journey around the Moon – a journey that will take them further from Earth than anyone has in over 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 with them.
That means this is the first time iPhones and Android phones will be carried into space on NASA missions, and we’re already seeing some of the fun with them.
In a series of posts on X, @OwenSparks shared some brief clips of the crew using iPhones. In one, an iPhone is thrown to someone in zero gravity, while in another, one of the astronauts – Christina Koch – films Victor Glover piloting the spacecraft.
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The Artemis crew swinging around their iPhones, floating in zero gravity 😂 pic.twitter.com/mjghv2fz1IApril 2, 2026
There’s also a third clip, showing iPhones packed into crew suits before takeoff.
What comes next is more exciting
But as fun as these clips are, I’m more excited about what’s next: With this mission taking the crew around the moon, we could soon have close-up photos of the moon from the same phones most of us use every day, so that will be interesting to see.
And smartphones can also be used in upcoming missions, so Artemis II won’t be the last time we see one in space.
Plus, while it seems like this mission favored iPhones, it’s likely that sooner or later an astronaut will also show us what an Android phone is capable of during a trip to space.
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