The Ultimate Shot on iPhone: Artemis II Commander Shares Stunning Earthset Video
Reid Wiseman / X
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Although NASA can’t involve itself in overt product sponsorship, the recently-concluded Artemis II lunar flyby mission has turned out to be better than any “Shot on iPhone” campaign that Apple could have even run on its own.
In February, we shared how NASA had greenlit smartphones after its newly-appointed administrator, Jared Isaacman, publicly announced a policy shift that would allow astronauts to bring certain personal devices along — starting with Crew-12 and Artemis II.
While it’s unclear what criteria were used to pick which smartphones to bring along, the four members of the Artemis II crew seemingly opted for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, resulting in Apple’s flagship smartphone going where no phone has gone before.
However, it wasn’t just about an iPhone travelling to the dark side of the Moon — a record-breaking 252,756 miles from Earth — they also used Apple’s smartphones to capture plenty of selfies and a few other stunning images, including a closeup of the Chebyshev crater using the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s 8x zoom , taking by mission commander Reid Wiseman.
Now, Wiseman is giving us another treat. While most of the official “outside” photography was heavier-duty equipment like the Nikon D5 and Z9, which his colleague Christina Koch was using at the time, it seems the mission commander himself “couldn’t resist” snapping an iPhone video of the Earthset — the Earth disappearing behind the Moon.
I could barely see the Moon through the docking hatch window but the iPhone was the perfect size to catch the view…this is uncropped, uncut with 8x zoom which is quite comparable to the view of the human eye. Enjoy.
Reid Wiseman
The 53-second clip, which was shared as a vertical video taken through a window, shows the horizon of the Moon as the capsule comes around and the Earth slowly “sets” behind it. The “unofficial” video also has a uniquely personal touch as you can hear the crew in the background marvelling at the sight.
Wiseman adds that he deliberately shot the video as casually as possible to reflect what the human eye would see, giving it the same feel as an iPhone recording any of us would make — except that few have the opportunity to do so from a quarter-million miles up.
NASA and the astronauts have been relatively careful to avoid specifics, since they don’t want to be perceived as endorsing Apple products, but they’ve still made it clear they’re using iPhones — and the iPhone photos that have been shared on NASA’s Artemis II Flickr album clearly show the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the EXIF data. Of course, Apple CEO Tim Cook couldn’t pass up the opportunity to point out how the crew took iPhone photography “to new heights” in a message welcoming them home.
Apple’s marketing chief Greg Joswiak also chimed in, saying he and Apple were “Honored that NASA astronauts brought iPhone to space with them,” calling it “One small step for iPhone. One giant leap for space selfies.”
