{"id":231157,"date":"2026-04-04T12:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T16:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/04\/the-iphone-17-pro-max-is-heading-to-the-moon-and-nasa-almost-didnt-let-it\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T13:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:20:11","slug":"the-iphone-17-pro-max-is-heading-to-the-moon-and-nasa-almost-didnt-let-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/04\/the-iphone-17-pro-max-is-heading-to-the-moon-and-nasa-almost-didnt-let-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The iPhone 17 Pro Max is heading to the Moon, and NASA almost didn’t let it"},"content":{"rendered":"

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is heading to the Moon, and NASA almost didn’t let it<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.phonearena.com\/news\/the-iphone-17-pro-max-is-heading-to-the-moon-and-nasa-almost-didnt-let-it_id179431<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-04-04 12:51:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.phonearena.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The same phone you’re probably scrolling on right now is on its way to the Moon. Four iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/span> units are aboard the Artemis II spacecraft, and how they got NASA’s green light is a pretty wild story.<\/p>\n

How NASA cleared the iPhone 17 Pro Max for spaceflight<\/h2>\n

A new report from the New York Times (subscription required) details the four-phase qualification process NASA put the iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/span> through before it could ride along: <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Phase one brings the hardware before a safety panel.<\/li>\n
  2. Phase two flags every potential hazard, from moving parts to glass that could shatter.<\/li>\n
  3. Phase three maps out how to deal with those hazards.<\/li>\n
  4. Phase four proves the fixes actually hold up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For a phone you can buy at your local Apple Store, that’s a pretty intense vetting process. Apple confirmed this is the first time an iPhone has fully qualified for extended use beyond Earth orbit, though the company wasn’t directly involved in making it happen.<\/p>\n

    What the iPhones can actually do up there<\/h2>\n

    These $1,199 phones can’t connect to the internet or use Bluetooth, which makes them the world’s most expensive point-and-shoot cameras. Each of the four astronauts got one to capture photos and videos throughout the mission, and at least one was zipped into a leg pocket on a flight suit before launch.The crew also packed GoPro Hero 11 cameras and Nikon D5 bodies for more traditional photography. But there’s something personal about astronauts documenting a trip to the Moon with the same device billions of people use to photograph their lunch.<\/p>\n

    New iPhones are being packed into the suits of the Artemis II Crew! <\/p>\n

    There is something very familiar about the iPhone look that will make the Moon feel accessible, we are literally going to see the lunar surface through the same lens we use to capture our own lives every day. pic.twitter.com\/sDDM5NSRMX<\/p>\n

    \u2014 Owen Sparks (@OwenSparks) April 1, 2026<\/p>\n

    Ceramic Shield 2 just passed its toughest test yet<\/h2>\n

    Broken glass…
    \n
    Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The iPhone 17 Pro Max is heading to the Moon, and NASA almost didn’t let…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":231158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/m-cdn.phonearena.com\/images\/article\/179431-wide-two_1200\/The-iPhone-17-Pro-Max-is-heading-to-the-Moon-and-NASA-almost-didnt-let-it.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[80],"class_list":["post-231157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iphone","tag-iphone-17"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231157"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231159,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231157\/revisions\/231159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}