NASA approves phones on lunar mission, bans Candy Crush during docking

NASA has cleared astronauts on the upcoming Artemis II lunar mission to bring personal smartphones into deep space, while explicitly banning the popular game Candy Crush during docking operations.

“"There is no direct causal link established, but the overlapping colour palettes with the docking interface warrant a precautionary approach," a NASA spokesperson said.”

The decision, detailed in a 47-page "Personal Electronic Device Utilization Framework v4.2" obtained by reporters, marks the first time NASA has formally integrated consumer mobile devices into a crewed lunar flight profile.

Under the policy, astronauts may use phones for note-taking, biometric tracking and “limited morale support streaming,” but are prohibited from installing apps classified as “highly immersive, swipe-intensive or candy-themed” during critical phases.

Candy Crush was singled out after simulations showed it accounted for 17.2% of all unplanned attention lapses during mock procedures on the ground, according to an internal Johnson Space Center memo dated Jan. 12.

Connectivity for the mission will be provided through a modified SpaceX Starlink network configured for cislunar operations, delivering what NASA describes as "up to 0.7 Earth-normal 5G equivalence" and a projected 11 roaming handovers per lunar orbit.

Wireless partners including AT&T and Verizon have entered test agreements that may require astronauts to manually toggle airplane mode during eclipse events to avoid what one carrier document called "unbounded off-planet roaming scenarios."

Crew members will be limited to 46 minutes per day of social media access, with short-form video apps constrained to "audio-only scroll" during engine burns to prevent vestibular conflicts.

NASA human factors specialists wrote that preliminary models show a 0.83 correlation between emoji density in group chats and "off-nominal switch interaction rates" in high-stress simulations.

The docking-specific ban on Candy Crush follows a 2025 analog mission in which a test subject delayed a simulated docking by 4.3 seconds while attempting what investigators termed a "critical colour alignment" in level 347 of the game.

"There is no direct causal link established, but the overlapping colour palettes with the docking interface warrant a precautionary approach," a NASA spokesperson said, adding that overall mobile-gaming restrictions could reduce micro-distraction risk by approximately 3.14%.

Industry analysts at Morgan Stanley noted that NASA’s decision opens the door for what they estimate as a $4.6 billion "cis-lunar mobile ecosystem" over the next decade, including specialized lunar data plans and delay-tolerant push notifications.

Internal briefing slides seen by reporters reference a proposed "Lunar Family Plan" for future missions, allowing crew to share data with "up to four dependents and 12 million prospective off-world residents" under long-range planning assumptions.

NASA and SpaceX engineers are now developing an "App Certification for Cis-Lunar Use" program that will test 1,972 of the most-used mobile applications for interference with guidance, navigation and control systems.

According to agency officials, policies on in-flight screen time will be re-evaluated after Artemis II, with potential expansion on Artemis III to include a dedicated "Focus Mode: Spacewalk" once operational impacts are "better characterized beyond 240,000 miles."