NASA is officially loosening one of its longest standing rules. Astronauts will soon be allowed to bring modern smartphones, including iPhones, on space missions. The change starts with SpaceX Crew-12 and continues with Artemis II, marking the first time personal iPhones are fully cleared for extended use beyond Earth.
The announcement came from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who framed the decision as both practical and symbolic. Astronauts will be able to capture photos and videos for their families and the public, but the bigger shift is internal. NASA has now qualified modern consumer hardware for spaceflight on a faster timeline, challenging approval processes that have barely changed in decades.
This matters more than it sounds. Until now, the newest camera scheduled for Artemis II was a Nikon DSLR from 2016, alongside aging GoPros. By contrast, an iPhone in space offers a compact, powerful camera that astronauts can use instantly when something unexpected appears outside a window or during an experiment. It lowers friction in moments where timing matters.
Apple confirmed that this is the first time the iPhone has been fully qualified for prolonged orbital and deep space use. While smartphones have flown before, including iPhone 4 units on the final space shuttle mission in 2011, those devices were limited in scope and purpose. This approval is broader and more deliberate.
Artemis II, currently planned for March 2026, will be NASA’s first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit in more than fifty years. Four astronauts will fly a figure eight trajectory around the Moon during a ten day mission. For the first time, they will be able to document parts of that journey with modern smartphones.
NASA astronauts were previously barred from carrying personal phones, even though tablets were commonly used on the International Space Station for communication. Cameras were tightly controlled, and qualifying new hardware often took years due to radiation testing, battery safety concerns, vibration tests, and material reviews. Isaacman has acknowledged those risks but is pushing teams to reassess whether every legacy requirement still makes sense.
NASA has not said which iPhone models are approved, nor whether Android devices will follow the same certification path.
