Behind the iPhone 17 Pro Max in NASA's Artemis II Mission, There Are Strict Qualification Tests

There was an unusual moment in the Artemis II mission to the Moon, launched by the US space agency NASA on 1 April 2026. One viral footage on social media showed a silver iPhone 17 Pro Max floating in the Orion capsule cockpit, which carried four NASA astronauts. The inclusion of the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the Artemis II mission marks a historic milestone. This is because, in recent missions, NASA has prohibited the use of modern smartphones. NASA is indeed very strict in determining what items astronauts may bring into space. It was only in February that NASA announced it would relax these rules. “The process is quite complicated and lengthy,” said Tobias Niederwieser, assistant research professor at BioServe Space Technologies, as summarised by KompasTekno from Apple Insider. In total, there are four stages that must be undergone, namely: As mentioned at the beginning, NASA is very strict in selecting items carried by astronauts on every mission. They meticulously curate, sort, and strategise risks of threats that could arise if there are problems with the carried items. Niederwieser stated that the strict procedures are carried out to protect the crew and the vehicle during the journey. During the trip to the Moon, there will be several conditions that are very different from Earth. On Earth, if there are shards like glass or other materials, the objects will fall due to gravity. However, inside the vehicle, due to microgravity, the shards will float and could become dangerous. Even if there is an object with glass fragments, that object could fly and collide with other objects inside the vehicle.