NASA allows astronauts on the Artemis lunar mission to bring smartphones into space
NASA astronauts will soon fly with the latest smartphones, beginning with Crew-12 and Artemis II. We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world. Just as important, we challenged long-standing…
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) February 5, 2026
NASA will finally allow astronauts to bring their iPhones to space - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/02/nasa-will-finally-allow-astronauts-to-bring-their-iphones-to-space/
'NASA astronauts will be flying with the latest smartphones from Crew-12 and Artemis 2 ,' Isaacman said in a post on X.
Crew-12 is a project to transport a total of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, scheduled for launch after February 15, 2026. Artemis 2 is the second mission in NASA's Artemis program and is planned to send four astronauts into lunar orbit. Artemis 2's launch was originally scheduled for February 6-7, but was postponed due to a severe cold snap in the eastern United States and a technical error in the fuel system.
The launch of Artemis 2, the first manned lunar orbital mission in 50 years, has been postponed due to winter storms and fuel leaks in Florida - GIGAZINE
NASA astronauts have been taking various photos from the ISS and sharing them with people on Earth for some time now, but now that smartphones are allowed into space, it will be even easier to take photos from space.
'We're providing our crews with the tools to capture special moments for their families and create striking photos and videos to share with the world,' said Isaacman. 'At the same time, we've challenged a long-standing process to certify modern hardware as suitable for spaceflight on an accelerated timeline. The urgency of that operation will be a great advantage for NASA as we pursue the highest-value science and research in orbit and on the lunar surface. This is a small step in the right direction.'
Technology media Ars Technica points out that the approval process for bringing hardware into space involves various requirements, such as evaluating chip radiation resistance and testing batteries for heat and vacuum. While these requirements are in place for a reason, the complexity of the approval process can also cause delays in hardware updates. In fact, the latest camera planned for Artemis 2 was a 10-year-old GoPro, similar to the Nikon digital SLR camera from 2016.
Isaacman is directing his team to identify what hardware requirements are still necessary for spaceflight today, Ars Technica reported.
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