- We’re getting photos from the Artemis II mission
- Some of these were snapped with the iPhone 17 Pro Max
- The mission is getting close to the halfway point
We know the crew of the Artemis II mission have taken iPhones up into space with them, and now we’re getting some stunning snaps back from the astronauts as they make their way towards the moon.
As shared by NASA, we have spectacular shots of Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman looking back towards their home planet, as the Orion spacecraft pulls away from it — at speeds of thousands of miles per hour.
A quick check on the photos in NASA’s archive (here and here) shows that both these images were taken using the selfie camera on an iPhone 17 Pro Max. That’s the same model that got a 4.5/5 star rating in its TechRadar review.
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The astronauts themselves are sharing pictures on social media: here’s another shot from Reid Wiseman, the 50-year-old designated as the overall commander of the mission. The caption simply reads “There are no words.”
There and back again
This view just hits different 🌍 @Astro_Christina and @astro_reid take a moment to look back at Earth as they continue deep into space toward the Moon. pic.twitter.com/NMDeLj256KApril 4, 2026
There’s likely to be plenty more to come too, as Orion reaches the moon, circles around it, and heads back home. We know the spacecraft is fitted with laser communications tech that can maintain a high-speed connection with Earth.
NASA has also shared an image of the moon taken by the Artemis II crew, with the Orientale basin visible on the lunar surface. This is apparently the first time the basin has been seen in its entirety with human eyes.
Once the team of astronauts has gone around the moon and started coming back, they will have gone further away from Earth than any other human beings before them — some 252,757 miles or 406,773 kilometers.
The mission is now in its fourth day, with the entire trip expected to take 10 days. When the Orion spacecraft comes back into Earth orbit, it’ll mark another first: the fastest crewed reentry ever attempted, at around 25,000 miles per hour (40,234 kilometers per hour).
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