Artemis II Commander Flashes Tablet PIN to Millions Watching Live Launch
Nineteen minutes before NASA’s Artemis II lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, mission commander Reid Wiseman grabbed his stylus and entered a four-digit code directly in frame of a 4K overhead camera broadcasting to millions worldwide.
The unintentional PIN reveal came during what was otherwise a milestone moment: the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years, with Wiseman, 50, leading a four-member crew aboard the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
The clip spread quickly. Social media users zeroed in on the digits either 9393 or 3939, depending on the angle with reactions ranging from mock outrage to dry humour.
“My guy just typed his iPad PIN directly into a 4K overhead shot, unlocking it for the entire planet. Command module getting open-sourced but it’s ok because it’s for the gram,” wrote one user. Another quipped: “That’s amazing! I have the same combination on my luggage!” A third added: “I appreciate you wanting to get people interested in rocket science, but maybe don’t broadcast that the PIN to unlock the tablet on the rocket is either 9393 or 3939.”
According to the New York Post, Artemis crew tablets come pre-loaded with TV programmes alongside mission manuals and experiment documentation.
Wiseman is joined on the 10-day mission by Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The crew will orbit the Moon and return a test run for the Artemis programme’s broader goal of putting astronauts back on the lunar surface by 2028, with Mars missions to follow.