NASA is sending the iPhone 17 Pro Max to the Moon—but turning off all the good bits

Space By James Lawson
NASA is sending the iPhone 17 Pro Max to the Moon—but turning off all the good bits
The Artemis II crew will carry Apple's flagship phone on their lunar flyby. But strict safety rules mean it's flying as a heavily restricted, radio-silenced camera.

In microgravity, a dropped phone doesn’t just mean a cracked screen. Shattered glass becomes a cloud of microscopic daggers capable of abrading spacecraft seals, jamming physical mechanisms, or quietly destroying life-support systems.

That is the baseline paranoia NASA operates under when approving any new hardware for human spaceflight. It is exactly why the agency has subjected the iPhone 17 Pro Max to a gruelling, months-long safety gauntlet ahead of the Artemis II lunar flyby. Four crew members will carry Apple’s flagship device around the Moon, but the phones surviving the clearance process look very different to the ones sitting in a high street shop.

A Radio-Silent Flyby

To get the device aboard the Orion capsule, NASA had to neuter it. Every wireless radio—from Bluetooth to the LTE transceiver—has been permanently disabled for flight.

There will be no lunar FaceTime calls, no real-time social media updates, and no wireless AirPods floating through the cabin. Allowing a commercial device to actively transmit inside a densely instrumented capsule risks unexpected electromagnetic interference with the ship's own systems.

Rather than spend months testing every possible radio frequency against Orion's avionics, NASA took the simpler route. They effectively turned a high-end smartphone into an offline digital camera.

Ceramic Shields and Zero-G Debris

Apple played no part in this certification. NASA ran the device through its own independent four-stage safety review, examining the phone's 8x telephoto system and the structural limits of its 'Ceramic Shield' glass.

Tobias Niederwieser of BioServe Space Technologies called the required testing routine "pretty involved and lengthy." Assessors had to catalogue every moving part and breakable surface, then prove through lab testing that any catastrophic failure wouldn't compromise the crew.

Even daily charging has been heavily regulated. The phones are restricted to specific power loads and thermal control cycles to prevent overheating in a sealed environment, while Velcro mounts and zipped leg pockets will keep them from drifting into sensitive equipment.

The Nikon Safety Net

The payoff for this bureaucratic headache is a different kind of space photography. The crew are already using the phones for floating selfies and window-framed shots of Earth—intimate, human-scale moments that traditional space imagery often misses.

But these devices aren't replacing the heavy-duty gear. Artemis II is still flying with older Nikon D5 DSLRs and GoPro Heros strapped to the bulkheads.

NASA keeps the older kit on the manifest because it is a known quantity. The iPhone is there for storytelling and public relations; the Nikons are there because flight safety teams already know exactly how they operate and fail.

Approving consumer tech for spaceflight sets a tricky precedent. Every hour NASA spends proving a commercial smartphone won't blow up a thermal control cycle is an hour diverted from certifying mission-critical hardware.

Sources

  • NASA
  • BioServe Space Technologies

Tags

hardware-in-the-loop risk assessment space engineering space regulation
James Lawson

James Lawson

Investigative science and tech reporter focusing on AI, space industry and quantum breakthroughs

University College London (UCL) • United Kingdom

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Readers Questions Answered

Q Why did NASA disable the wireless features on the iPhone 17 Pro Max for the Artemis II mission?
A NASA permanently disabled all wireless radios, including Bluetooth and LTE transceivers, to prevent potential electromagnetic interference with the Orion capsule's sensitive avionics. Testing every frequency against spacecraft systems is incredibly time-consuming, so the agency opted to treat the devices as offline digital cameras. This ensures the phones do not disrupt critical navigation or communication hardware while the crew travels around the Moon during the lunar flyby.
Q What specific safety concerns does NASA have regarding consumer smartphones in microgravity?
A The primary concern in microgravity is that shattered glass from a dropped device could create a cloud of microscopic debris. These tiny shards can damage spacecraft seals, jam mechanical parts, or interfere with life-support systems. To mitigate this, NASA conducted a rigorous four-stage safety review of the iPhone 17 Pro Max's structural limits and Ceramic Shield glass to ensure any potential failure would not compromise the crew or the mission.
Q How will the Artemis II crew use the iPhone 17 Pro Max during their mission?
A The crew will primarily use the iPhones for capturing intimate, human-scale moments like floating selfies and window-framed views of Earth and the Moon. These devices provide a different perspective for storytelling and public relations compared to standard mission imagery. However, they are not replacing heavy-duty equipment; the mission still utilizes specialized Nikon D5 DSLRs and GoPros, which have long-established flight safety records and predictable performance in space environments.
Q What constraints are placed on charging and storing the iPhones aboard the Orion capsule?
A To prevent overheating in the sealed environment of the Orion spacecraft, charging the iPhones is restricted to specific power loads and thermal control cycles. For storage, the devices must be secured using Velcro mounts or zipped leg pockets to prevent them from drifting into sensitive equipment or becoming floating hazards. These protocols are part of a broader effort to manage consumer hardware safely alongside mission-critical flight systems.

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