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Astronauts will now be able to take modern smartphones on space missions. According to a tweet this week From NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. The policy will start with SpaceX-12 and Artemis II crews, Isaacman said.
The SpaceX Crew-12 mission is scheduled to launch on February 11, and will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA’s Artemis 2 mission It is expected to be launched in March; It will send four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon and back to Earth.
“We give our crews the tools to capture their families’ special moments and share inspiring photos and videos with the world,” Isaacman wrote.
NASA astronauts will soon be flying with the latest smartphones, starting with the Crew-12 and Artemis II. We give our crews the tools to capture their families’ special moments and share inspiring photos and videos with the world. Just as importantly, our longstanding resilience has been challenged…
– NASAS Administrator Jared Isaac (@LAAAA Admin) February 5, 2026
An Apple representative noted in an email to CNET that this was “the first time an iPhone has been fully qualified for extended use in orbit and beyond.”
“Until now, astronauts’ use has been largely limited to old cameras and old photographic equipment,” the spokesman said.
NASA did not mention specific brands or models of phones in its tweet.
Ars Technica reported Space missions currently use 2016 Nikon DSLRs and GoPro cameras.
Photography has played an important role in space missions since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s. The Apollo 11 astronauts, the first humans on the moon, captured iconic images of their famous mission in July 1969 using specially modified Hasselblad cameras.