NASA is finally changing a long-standing policy about what astronauts can carry into space. Astronauts heading to space will now be allowed to carry smartphones on missions, opening the door to more candid photos, videos, and yes, even the occasional zero-gravity selfie.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed the change on X, saying astronauts will soon fly with the latest smartphones “to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images with the world.”
He added that NASA challenged long-standing approval processes to qualify modern hardware faster, calling it a “small step in the right direction.”
The new policy will kick in with upcoming missions, including Crew-12, which is heading to the International Space Station, and Artemis II, the long-awaited crewed mission that will take humans around the Moon.
Imagine the stunning images astronauts could capture with smartphones powered by cameras found on the latest iPhones and Pixels.
Why NASA is changing course now
Until now, astronauts relied on NASA-approved camera gear to capture images, a process that often lagged far behind consumer technology. In fact, before this change, the newest camera cleared to fly on Artemis II was a 2016 Nikon DSLR, along with GoPro cameras that were already nearly a decade old (via Ars Technica).
With smartphones, astronauts will finally have access to modern, portable cameras that fit easily into daily life on a spacecraft. Interestingly, this is not the first time phones have reached orbit. Two iPhone 4 devices flew aboard a space shuttle mission in 2011, though it remains unclear whether they were actively used or simply carried along.
The timing of the announcement lines up with renewed attention on Artemis II. The mission will send four astronauts on a loop around the Moon and back. However, the launch of Artemis II has been delayed after running into technical issues during testing, pushing its launch into March 2026.
When it does fly, the journey will not just be historic; it may also be documented in a more personal way than any lunar mission before it.