Artemis 2 moon astronauts capture space history — on their iPhones

"We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world. Just as important, we challenged longstanding processes and qualified modern hardware for spaceflight on an expedited timeline," Isaacman shared in a Feb. 4 X post about the decision to allow smartphones on board. "That operational urgency will serve NASA well as we pursue the highest-value science and research in orbit and on the lunar surface. This is a small step in the right direction."

This isn't Isaacman's first time bringing smartphones into space. In commanding the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission in 2021, the first private spaceflight to reach Earth orbit, Isaacman and his crew brought iPhone 12s on board to capture imagery. They even used Apple watches to collect biometric crew data.

Now, the Artemis 2 astronauts aren't just using iPhones to document their journey. They are also using GoPros as well as professional Nikon cameras to capture moments from the mission. Their use, in addition to Isaacman's comments, do imply that future crewed missions will likely also send astronauts into space with smartphones. But at least for now, they primarily serve as a complement to more standard photography equipment similar to what astronauts have used to snap photos of space for decades.