Astronaut Captures Stunning "Earthset" Video with iPhone 17 Pro Max
NASA recently released an "Earthset" video captured by an iPhone 17 Pro Max, showcasing the breathtaking moment of Earth slowly disappearing behind the Moon. The video was shot by Reid Wiseman, commander of the Artemis II mission, from the Orion spacecraft's docking module window, and is considered the first "Earthset" imagery recorded by a mobile device.
Reports indicate that NASA certified the iPhone for "long-term use" in space missions as early as February of this year, making it a standard piece of equipment for astronauts during orbital periods. During the Artemis II lunar orbit mission in April, astronauts used the iPhone 17 Pro Max multiple times to take photos, which were subsequently released to the media by NASA. Wiseman further shared this "Earthset" video on the social platform X, describing it as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and comparing the experience to "watching a sunset on the most alien beach in the universe."
According to the video description, Wiseman switched the iPhone to 8x zoom during filming. Initially, the device took a second or two to focus, but the subsequent 53-second video clearly shows the texture of craters on the lunar surface, while Earth slowly slides out of the frame until completely obscured by the Moon. Wiseman stated that the iPhone's viewfinder at 8x zoom was "very close" to what he saw with the naked eye through the window.
In accompanying audio recordings released simultaneously, the sound of Christina Koch, another astronaut, repeatedly pressing the shutter button of a Nikon camera can be heard. She was recording more still images using a burst mode with exposure bracketing. This demonstrates that while professional equipment handles core scientific and imaging tasks, commercial smartphones are providing astronauts with more image recording tools with instant sharing capabilities.
Industry observers point out that from previously released "Shot on iPhone" space photos to this "Earthset" video, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is gradually becoming a more prominent personal imaging device in NASA's deep space missions. For Apple, this content is not only an extreme scenario demonstration for the "Shot on iPhone" campaign, but also provides valuable real-world validation of its capabilities in imaging, durability, and adaptability to extreme environments.