Crew-12 astronauts will be 1st allowed to take smartphones to space
- - Crew-12 astronauts will be 1st allowed to take smartphones to space
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAYFebruary 10, 2026 at 1:20 AM
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Crew-12 astronauts will be 1st allowed to take smartphones to space
Most of us probably can't imagine leaving our phones behind when we so much as leave a room, but astronauts have long had to do without their iPhones and Androids for months at a time.
Not anymore.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that astronauts will now be permitted to take the "latest smartphones" with them when they launch to space.
Because the new policy is already in effect, astronauts selected for a NASA mission with SpaceX known as Crew-12 will become the first able to take their iPhones and other modern technology to orbit. Isaacman also instituted the change ahead of the potential launch in March of Artemis 2, which will send four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon.
"We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world," Isaacman said in a Feb. 4 post on social media site X.
1 / 132025 spaceflight in photos. See images of Blue Origin, SpaceX missionsFirefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander captures its shadow on the moon's surface after completing a successful landing March 2 near a volcanic feature on the moon called Mons Latreille. The vehicle became the first of two landers manufactured by a U.S. company to reach the moon is 2025 in crucial missions to lay the groundwork for NASA to return humans to the lunar surface in the years ahead.
Here's everything to know about the change ahead of the Crew-12 launch date.
Crew-12: What to know about SpaceX, NASA mission to International Space Station
NASA to allow astronauts to take smartphones to space
NASA astronauts with an interest in astral photography have long been able to capture and share stunning cosmic vistas on social media while in orbit. But, as Isaacman hinted in his social media post, the new guidelines from NASA will likely make it easier for astronauts to document their celestial surroundings – an ability that should prove useful during scientific experiments.
The USA TODAY Network left a message Monday, Feb. 9, with NASA's media office seeking more information about how smartphones could be used in space.
The change comes after NASA officials "challenged long-standing processes" that governed the type of hardware and technology deemed safe for space travel, Isaacman said.
NASA astronauts will soon fly with the latest smartphones, beginning with Crew-12 and Artemis II. We are giving our crews the tools to capture special moments for their families and share inspiring images and video with the world. Just as important, we challenged long-standing…
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) February 5, 2026
"This is a small step in the right direction," Isaacman concluded.
SpaceX Crew-12 mission to be 1st to allow iPhones, Androids
1 / 9SpaceX Crew-12 mission to send 4 astronauts to space station. PhotosThe four crew members representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose for a portrait at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Crew-12 Pilot and Commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot.
The policy change means that astronauts selected for an upcoming mission known as Crew-12 will become the first who are permitted to take the latest iPhones and Android smartphones to space.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, as well as the European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, are preparing for a nine-month mission at the International Space Station.
Under the guidelines, four astronauts on NASA's highly-anticipated Artemis 2 mission around the moon will also be able to take smartphones with them when they become the first humans to see the far side of the moon. Slated for no earlier than March 6, Artemis 2 is the U.S.' first lunar mission in more than 50 years and will set the stage for a future moon landing.
Previously, the newest camera approved to fly on the historic Artemis 2 mission was a 2016 Nikon DSLR, Ars Technica reported.
When is the Crew 12 launch date?
The Crew-12 mission was bumped up a few days so the astronauts can get to an understaffed space station after the mission's Crew-11 predecessors were medically evacuated in mid-January. After poor weather delayed an earlier opportunity, NASA is now working toward a launch at 5:38 a.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 12, from Launch Pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will provide the initial burst of thrust to propel a Dragon capsule toward the ISS with the astronauts aboard.
1 / 112025 was a year of cosmic discoveries. Here's a look back at 6NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope last observed come 3I/ATLAS on Nov. 30, about four months after Hubble's first look at the interstellar comet. 3I/ATLAS became one of the biggest cosmic stories of the year when astronomers deemed it to be the third-ever discovered interstellar object in our solar system originating from an entirely different part of the galaxy.What is the NASA, SpaceX Crew 12 mission?
As the name suggests, Crew-12 will be NASA and SpaceX's 12th human science expedition to the International Space Station.
The series of missions are contracted under NASA's commercial crew program. The program allows the space agency to pay SpaceX to launch and transport astronauts and cargo to orbit aboard the company's own vehicles, freeing up NASA to focus on its Artemis lunar program and other spaceflight missions, including future crewed voyages to Mars.
In addition to the SpaceX Dragon Crew capsule, NASA is also hoping to certify Boeing's Starliner capsule to add a second operational vehicle for missions to the ISS before the station is retired by 2030.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crew 12, Artemis 2 astronauts will be 1st to take smartphones to space
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