NASA Will Finally Let Its Astronauts Bring iPhones To the Moon (x.com)
- Reference: 0180736564
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/02/05/1918226/nasa-will-finally-let-its-astronauts-bring-iphones-to-the-moon
- Source link: https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2019259382962307393
Isaacman framed the move as part of a broader push to challenge what he called bloated qualification requirements, where hardware approvals get mired in radiation characterization, battery thermal tests, outgassing reviews and vibration testing. "That operational urgency will serve NASA well as we pursue the highest-value science and research in orbit and on the lunar surface," he [1]wrote .
[1] https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2019259382962307393
yes, (Score:2)
letâ(TM)s skip the battery thermal tests, what could possibly go wrong?
Re: (Score:2)
People have been carrying iphones for nearly 20 years at this point. I think the battery thermals are pretty well known and understood at this point. These aren't being used in the vacuum of space. This isn't a landing and there are no spacewalks planned. They are being used onboard.
Re: (Score:2)
It's not the vacuum of space, but the Orion capsule is designed to operate at as little as 8 psi, about half normal sea level. At least it's not pure oxygen, but I do rather hope those specific phones have been tested at that pressure.
If I were an astronaut... (Score:2)
I wouldn't carry a device in my pocket that contains a lithium battery that hasn't been tested for safety in a vacuum.
Re:If I were an astronaut... (Score:4, Insightful)
If the phone is in a vacuum, the phone is the least of your worries.
Re: (Score:2)
The last text message from the astronaut was "please...send...air!"
Re: If I were an astronaut... (Score:2)
Sent from my die phone
Re: (Score:2)
I wouldn't carry a device in my pocket that contains a lithium battery that hasn't been tested for safety in a vacuum.
I agree, but how do you know it hasn't actually been tested?
Re: (Score:2)
At NASA, you know. Everybody knows. That's how they do things.
It's just an iphone (Score:2)
If it breaks it breaks, ohwell. A better strategy for over 50 years after the moon landings when tech that would've seen jaw droppingly alien back then is an everyday item today.
Re: (Score:2)
If it releases poisonous gases into a tiny space capsule and then breaks by catching fire it could be a problem though. A very unlikely way for a mission to end, but NASA puts a lot of effort into preventing other equally unlikely dangers that could thwart a billion-dollar moon mission and put the crew's lives in danger.
I hope they mandate (Score:2)
safer batteries for such things. It's no laughing matter on a plane, let alone in the tight confines of a capsule, when a phone or laptop decides to go up in flames.
Re: (Score:3)
It's actually quite hard to start a fire in zero-g because the CO2 stays around the flame and puts it out. Obviously that doesn't affect a phone battery because it brings its own oxygen, but the big risk is likely to be from the noxious gases it emits as it burns.
I wonder? (Score:2)
What kind of anti virus they will be running? The thought of devices running Microsoft software are pretty scary!
Re: (Score:2)
I would agree is Microsoft developed IOS. I just hope they don't try to use Apple Maps to get to the moon. The thought of arriving at Apophis instead is quite alarming.
Re: (Score:2)
Does anti-virus software even exist for extra-terrestrial viruses? Do we know what hackers from Alpha Centauri are up to?
Breakage acceptable, killage is not (Score:1)
I'm fine with NASA accepting an unknown risk that their non-radiation-hardened phones may fail to work or that stored non-critical pictures may be lost.
I'm NOT fine with them accepting an unknown risk of increased fire hazards.
Let's measure or get a very good estimate of the risk of a fire hazard then decide whether it's acceptable or not.
2016 Nikon DSLR vs. iPhone camera (Score:1)
Has something changed in the last 10 years that make the sensor and glass in an iPhone better than a DSLR? I can see the appeal of the weight savings. But beyond that it seems like there are only disadvantages.
Digital cameras didn't survive metal detectors (Score:2)
My early digital cameras didn't survive metal detectors. I got permanent stuck pixels on the sensors just by sending the cameras through the metal detectors.
Before you ask, we were not allowed to use lead-lined bags like we did with traditional film.
Can't wait to see those grainy, blurry, smeared images with stuck green pixels from the far side of the moon!
Re: (Score:2)
I assume that you mean x-ray scanners, not metal detectors? Metal detectors shouldn't emit anything.
About Time (Score:2)
It was a sad day back in '69 when NASA took Neil Armstrong's iPhone away.
Operate how? (Score:1)
And they're going to operate their phones with spacesuit gloves on? They're going to do EVAs clutching their precious phone? NASA is allowing regular consumer-grade items into space when each launch is going to cost billions of dollars?
Seriously?
I'm sorry, this is one of the most daft ideas I've heard in a long time.
Re: (Score:2)
They aren't doing EVAs at all on the Artimis II mission. They are keeping them in the spaceship where they will not wear gloves.
Employee Benefits (Score:2)
I'm glad the policy makers are looking out for our hard working government employees and ensuring that they have the space porn that they deserve.
What's next? (Score:2)
Using game controllers to control the spacecraft?
OK, tasteless jokes aside, for what PURPOSE would that be?
I don't mind if they bring their phones to watch netflix. For that, safety relevant tests would be enough. But for mission equipment? NASA is not stupid. They know if tests are cheaper that finding out in orbit that your photo equipment was not vibration or radiation resistant enough.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, but this is the Trump administration. They're probably planning on using cell phones in place of the radio communication systems, relying on an all natural organic wifi system designed by Robert Kennedy, Jr. and his buddies.
How Much Did Apple Pay For This (Score:1)
This is clearly an advertisement for Apple. How much did Apple pay for this ad.
Other companies that wen to space and moon milked it for advertising for decades afterwards.
Re: (Score:2)
> This is clearly an advertisement for Apple. How much did Apple pay for this ad.
> Other companies that wen to space and moon milked it for advertising for decades afterwards.
The actual NASA tweet only mentioned "smartphones" and didn't mention Apple, iPhones, or any particular manufacturers or models.
Re: (Score:2)
Really? It mentions other phones, which would include Android.
Uhhh... Houston, we have a problem here (Score:2)
Everybody seems to have forgotten their lightning cables.
Finally? (Score:1)
"NASA Will *Finally* Let Its Astronauts Bring iPhones To the Moon"
As opposed to the last astronauts that went to the moon? Really? The reason the Apollo missions didn't bring iPhones was because NASA wouldn't let them?
Re: (Score:2)
Neil Armstrong was a diehard Blackberry user.
Oh wait ... it *is* rocket science! (Score:2)
As always Slashdot is rife with an amazing number of Rocket Scientists!
Added info (Score:2)
I've been trying to find information about what lenses they will have on the Artemis II mission. If anyone has links, please post. The glass matters more than the camera body. It's very impressive what [1]Don Pettit [digitalcameraworld.com] and others can do on the ISS.
For what it is worth, the Artemis III astronauts will have modified Nikon Z9 cameras (a modern mirrorless camera) for taking shots on the surface. Ref [2]1 [space.com], [3]2 [talkoftitusville.com]. I don't think anyone would fancy exposing an iPhone to the vacuum of space, nor trying to operate it with
[1] https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/photography/astrophotography/even-nasa-astronauts-love-retro-camera-gear-don-pettit-admits-to-using-this-vintage-1980s-lens-in-space
[2] https://www.space.com/nasa-nikon-artemis-astronauts-photograph-moon
[3] https://talkoftitusville.com/2025/12/24/what-cameras-will-the-artemis-ii-astronauts-have-aboard/
Anker battery packs (Score:2)
Bring some Anker battery packs as well so that you can charge items while you sleep
Cell towers there? (Score:2)
What kind of coverage do you get? Will there be long distance charges with the current plan?
Last Time (Score:2)
They should probably not take iPhones with them. They didn't have them last time we went to the moon. Why the sudden change?
Roaming (Score:2)
Can you imagine the roaming charges they are going to incur?
Spaceship mode? (Score:2)
Will they have to put the phones in Spaceship mode?