Artemis II astronaut snaps a 'stunning' photo of the Moon's surface using an i Phone 17 Pro Max — this is what you can get with 8x zoom (and an unparalleled view) | Tech Radar

Overview

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest smartphones

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

Details

Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.

Artemis II astronaut snaps a 'stunning' photo of the Moon's surface using an i Phone 17 Pro Max — this is what you can get with 8x zoom (and an unparalleled view)

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

Artemis II astronauts have snapped the Moon with their i Phones

More images continue to be shared as the Orion spacecraft heads home

Having circled around the Moon, the crew of the Artemis II are now heading back home – and spectacular photos taken by the astronauts on board the Orion spacecraft, with their i Phone 17 Pro Max handsets, keep on coming.

This time, it's a picture of the lunar surface snapped by mission commander Reid Wiseman that we're marveling over. The image was shown off during a NASA livestream and posted to social media (via 9to 5 Google).

While the post below mentions the i Phone 17 Pro, we know that the astronauts were in fact given i Phone 17 Pro Max models, and those are the phones that are mentioned in the metadata linked to the images that NASA has shared so far.

The first i Phone 17 Pro Max photos sent from the Artemis II mission

I compared Artemis II mission's historic dark side of the moon photo with my Sony Alpha A6000

I turned the Artemis II mission's most stunning Earth photo into an i Phone wallpaper

Other details that have emerged over the snap are that it was taken using the i Phone's 8x zoom mode, and that it shows the Chebyshev crater on the far side of the Moon. The Orion has made use of the Moon's gravity to turn around and head back to Earth.

Astronaut Reid Wiseman captured this stunning image of the Moon using nothing more than an i Phone 17 Pro.the same camera that fits in your pocket. pic.twitter.com/m Zeva Dhh ITApril 6, 2026

Astronaut Reid Wiseman captured this stunning image of the Moon using nothing more than an i Phone 17 Pro.the same camera that fits in your pocket. pic.twitter.com/m Zeva Dhh ITApril 6, 2026

Wiseman and his colleagues will now have some pretty stunning phone wallpapers to show off when they get back home — as yet we don't have the original shot of the lunar surface, just the screengrab taken from NASA's livestream.

The i Phones given to the astronauts on Orion were being put to use shortly after launch, and no doubt Apple will be pleased by the publicity. We know the crew also has a Go Pro and a couple of Nikon cameras on board.

Reactions on Reddit have ranged from a simple "wild" to the observation that "that would be my phone wallpaper for the rest of my life" — plus a note that "Apple are sorted for adverts for the next decade after this".

Having set a new record for going the furthest distance away from our planet than anyone has ever traveled before, the astronauts are expected to get back this coming Friday, April 10, via a splash down off the coast of San Diego.

Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow Tech Radar on Tik Tok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on Whats App too.

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on Tech Radar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, Pop Sci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

1 Thinking of upgrading to a PS5 Pro before GTA 6, and Marvel's Wolverine or adding a Portal to your setup? Now is the time as retailers are still offering 'old' prices

2‘We might as well get Google Pixels’: Samsung Galaxy owners rebel against being forced to switch to Google Messages

3 Sony removes a selection of 'spam' games from its storefront as it continues its battle against shovelware

4 Microsoft is 'working hard on migrating all of Windows to modern UX', and jazzing up Windows 11's design — but can it make good on all its recent promises?

5 This is the world’s first dual-screen color E Ink and OLED phone — I can't wait to try it

Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Key Takeaways

• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest smartphones
• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
• Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
• Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards

• Artemis II astronaut snaps a 'stunning' photo of the Moon's surface using an i Phone 17 Pro Max — this is what you can get with 8x zoom (and an unparalleled view)