Artemis II Astronauts Share Stunning Earth And Moon Photos Taken On iPhone 17 Pro
The four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, are currently on a 10-day journey that marks the first time humans have left low Earth orbit since 1972. While the mission relies on a suite of professional imaging gear, including Nikon D5 DSLRs, Z9 mirrorless cameras, and GoPros, NASA revealed that several of the most striking portraits released this week were taken with iPhone 17 Pro Max phones (likely set to Airplane mode, of course).
This view just hits different 🌍
— NASA (@NASA) April 4, 2026
@Astro_Christina and @astro_reid take a moment to look back at Earth as they continue deep into space toward the Moon. pic.twitter.com/NMDeLj256K
In one frame, Mission Specialist Christina Koch is seen silhouetted against a cabin window with the curved, glowing limb of Earth hanging in the blackness behind her. Interestingly, the metadata reveals these shots were taken with the iPhone’s 18MP front-facing camera instead of the rear camera array. The trick to the attractive output wasn't complex settings but rather the unique lighting environment of the Orion capsule. The dim interior, contrasted with the immense brightness of Earth through the glass, allowed the iPhone's computational algorithm to balance the exposure in a way that feels intimate and cinematic.
Astronaut Reid Wiseman captured this stunning image of the Moon using nothing more than an iPhone 17 Pro.
— Earth (@earthcurated) April 6, 2026
the same camera that fits in your pocket. pic.twitter.com/mZevaDhhIT
Of course, the bigger news is that what the mission has achieved so far. After completing a 6-minute translunar injection burn, the crew entered the Moon's sphere of influence early yesterday. This is the point where the Moon's gravitational pull becomes stronger than the Earth's, a moment Koch described as "falling to the Moon rather than rising away from Earth." The crew has also swung around the lunar far side, coming within 4,067 miles of the surface. No doubt, this flyby is being well-documented using the same combo of high-end consumer tech and specialized NASA hardware.
During the far side transit, the four astronauts experienced a planned 40-minute communications blackout, one of the longest in human spaceflight history. Even as the crew began their trip back to Earth, with a splash down scheduled for off the coast of San Diego on April 10, they can celebrate the fact they ventured farther from our planet than any human ever before, a record previously held by Apollo 13.
