Anil Menon Captures Category 5 Typhoon on iPhone From ISS as Storm Nears Japan
Updated
Updated · PetaPixel · Aug 4
Anil Menon Captures Category 5 Typhoon on iPhone From ISS as Storm Nears Japan
3 articles · Updated · PetaPixel · Aug 4
Summary
Less than a month into his mission, Anil Menon posted an iPhone photo from the ISS Cupola showing what appears to be Super Typhoon Dolphin over the Pacific.
The storm reached Category 5 last week—becoming 2026's fifth tropical cyclone at that strength—and is heading toward Japan, with Okinawa residents warned to prepare for severe weather.
Menon's image also highlights NASA's February policy shift allowing astronauts to carry iPhones to capture personal moments and share photos and video from orbit.
That change followed April's Artemis II lunar flight, the first extended sanctioned iPhone use in orbit, while the ISS's Wi-Fi lets crews send images and make IP calls despite no cellular service.