iPhone 17 Pro Max captures stunning Earth photos during NASA Artemis 2 Mission

NASA’s Artemis 2 mission took flight on April 1 from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, onboarding four astronauts to travel in space. The mission is a key step in NASA’s ambitions to return humans to the Moon. However, the mission marked another milestone, becoming the first mission where astronauts were allowed to carry their own personal handsets into space.

To document the entire NASA Artemis 2 Mission, astronauts are carrying four iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the space organisation has already released three striking images on Flickr, capturing the Blue planet in its full glory.

The images showcase Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch aboard the Orion spacecraft, looking out at the view of Earth. All these images were captured on April 2, 2026, as per Flickr.

NASA on Flickr said, “Thinking of You, Earth”

“NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon,” it added.

Inside NASA’s decision to bring iPhones on Artemis 2

Just ahead of the Artemis II mission, NASA introduced a new rule in 2026 under Administrator Jared Isaacman, allowing astronauts to carry personal devices, like smartphones. This decision launched the astronauts on board the Artemis II Orion spacecraft to carry four units of iPhone 17 Pro Max.

However, these phones will only be used for capturing personal moments from space in high-quality. In addition, these phones will be kept in Aeroplane mode to restrict signals, so they don’t interfere with the spacecraft’s systems or try to connect to networks on Earth.

NASA follows a strict 4-step approval process to allow devices like the iPhone on a space mission. This process includes safety review, hazard checks like moving parts or materials, fix planning to reduce or eliminate those risks, and lastly testing to make sure those fixes actually work.

In addition to these checks, NASA also takes careful consideration for the heat management of these devices, battery safety, storage and handling in microgravity. Therefore, it rigorously tests it for safety, durability, and how it behaves in a zero-gravity environment before approving it.

Apart from the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the mission also carries imaging equipment for mission-critical documentation, such as Nikon D5, Nikon Z9, and GoPro HERO4 Black cameras.