Artemis II flyby: commander shares lunar surface photo taken on an iPhone 17 Pro Max

Flyby snapshot

As NASA's Artemis II completed the final phase of its historic Moon flyby, commander Reid Wiseman (里德·怀斯曼) held up a striking photo of the lunar surface taken on an Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max. It has been reported that the image — shot at 8x zoom through the Orion capsule window — shows the Chebyshev crater (切比雪夫陨石坑), and was displayed live as the crew dimmed the cabin lights for better contrast.

Cameras aboard and public access

Reportedly, the crew carried four iPhone 17 Pro Max handsets in addition to mission cameras including a GoPro HERO4 Black and Nikon D5 and Z9 bodies. NASA has been sharing iPhone-shot images from the flight, and a wider set of photos is available on the Johnson Space Center Flickr account. It remains unclear whether the specific photo Wiseman showed will be included in the official downlink of lunar imagery.

Why a smartphone matters

Why let consumer phones on a deep‑space mission? Allowing current-model smartphones gives astronauts an inexpensive, familiar tool for situational photography and public outreach — and it signals NASA's openness to using prosumer tech alongside specialized spacecraft systems. Reportedly this is the first Artemis mission to permit crew to carry the latest-model smartphones for imaging. Even as Washington tightens export controls on advanced chips amid broader U.S.–China tech tensions, consumer devices continue to play a visible role in high-profile space missions.

Next steps

With the spacecraft now using the Moon's gravity to slingshot back toward Earth, the crew has completed post-flyby tasks that include sending some photos home. Whether Wiseman's iPhone image will enter the official mission archive is not yet known; for now, it stands as a vivid, human-scale reminder that close-up lunar views are no longer the sole province of heavy, specialist instruments.