Pretty nice free advertising for Apple. “If it’s good enough for NASA’s astronauts, it’s good enough for you!”
https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/04/02/iphones-are-going-to-the-moon-on-artemis-ii
NASA’s Artemis II crew launched with iPhones on its mission around the Moon, but the devices are present as personal tools rather than officially part of the spacecraft’s systems.
Artemis II, the first deep-space flight to reflect this change, sent four astronauts on a 10-day lunar flyby aboard Orion to validate systems for future missions. Just prior to this launch, NASA approved personal smartphones for astronauts in February 2026, ending a decades-long restriction on consumer electronics in crewed missions.
And now, iPhones are in crewmembers’ hands.
NASA routes any data from devices like iPhones through the spacecraft’s communication systems rather than letting them transmit to ground on their own. This seems obvious, given that 5G range is not eternal, and Wi-Fi is even shorter, but it’s a question we got asked on social media.
The phones can record and interface with on-board Wi-Fi, but NASA’s network keeps the connection stable, and transmits to earth ground stations.