Moonshot on iPhone: Astronaut Reid Wiseman Takes Stunning Lunar Photo

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During the Artemis II mission’s approach for a historic lunar flyby, Commander Reid Wiseman captured an incredible photograph of the lunar surface using his iPhone 17 Pro Max. Here are the details of that moment.

In recent days, the Artemis II crew has shared images taken with their iPhones, marking a notable milestone as NASA permits astronauts to utilize the latest smartphones during their missions, as described by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

The crew has been equipped with four iPhone 17 Pro Max devices, along with a GoPro HERO 4 Black, a Nikon D5, and a Nikon Z 9 to document their journey. These images are now available on NASA Johnson’s Flickr account.

Tonight, as the spacecraft approached the moon for a flyby that would propel it back toward Earth, the astronauts took turns capturing what they saw through the Orion capsule’s window. During a livestream, as Public Affairs Officer Leah Mustachio explained that the team had turned off all cabin lights for better photography, Reid Wiseman stepped forward with a stunning lunar surface shot displayed on his iPhone.

A Twitter post later confirmed that Wiseman had snapped the photo with his iPhone 17 Pro Max using an 8x zoom. Mission Control identified the crater in the photo as Chebyshev.

At the time of writing, the crew was engaged in post-lunar flyby activities, including transmitting some photos back to Earth, as reported by Mustachio.

Watch the related video here.