NASA’s Artemis II mission is currently making history as the first crewed lunar mission since 1972, and tucked into the personal gear of each Orion crew member is an iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Not because the hardware couldn’t theoretically handle it, but because no Samsung phone was there. Apple cleared the iPhone 17 Pro Max for extended operation in orbit earlier this year, and NASA actually put it in astronauts’ hands.

Space isn’t a controlled condition; it’s the ultimate uncontrolled condition. When NASA needed something reliable enough to hand to astronauts heading farther from Earth than any humans in 52 years, the choice wasn’t a Galaxy.

The mission’s primary imaging hardware includes the Nikon D5, Nikon Z 9, and a GoPro HERO4 Black. The iPhone sits alongside those tools as a personal device, and it still managed to capture images of Earth.

Let’s rewind to 2024. Samsung launched a Galaxy S24 into the upper atmosphere attached to a high-altitude balloon. The company framed it as a space moment; the press played along, and it generated headlines.

A balloon touching the edge of the atmosphere and an iPhone orbiting the Moon on a crewed NASA mission are not the same category of achievement.

Samsung can’t retroactively partner with NASA on Artemis II. What the Galaxy maker can do is push harder on actual institutional relationships with space agencies, on hardware certifications for extreme environments.

The Artemis II crew could set a record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth before returning on April 10. Which means an iPhone 17 Pro Max will hold the record for the farthest any smartphone has ever traveled from Earth.

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/NMDeLj256K

— NASA (@NASA) April 4, 2026

The post Apple beats Samsung: iPhone 17 Pro Max shoots Earth on NASA’s Artemis II mission appeared first on Sammy Fans.