Ranking updated
Best space apps in 2026
To browse what the rovers actually photographed on Mars, NASA Mars Rover Photos. For NASA news, images, podcasts and live NASA+ video in one place, NASA’s own NASA app. To know when the International Space Station flies over you, Spot the Station. To point your phone at the sky and name what you see, SkyView Lite. Full breakdown below.
How we picked: space apps split into looking at pictures from missions, following NASA, and looking up at the sky yourself. We kept one strong app for each job and read each developer’s own App Store description for what it shows and where the data comes from.
Mars rover photos app
NASA Mars Rover Photos brings together images from five missions, Curiosity, Perseverance, Opportunity, Spirit and InSight, taken from NASA’s Mars mission archives. You can jump to any sol, the Martian day, to see what the rovers captured, open a full-screen gallery with pinch to zoom, save favourites for offline viewing and read about each rover and its mission. The developer states that it is not produced by or affiliated with NASA and uses publicly available NASA imagery.
NASA’s own app
The NASA app gives access to NASA+, NASA’s live coverage and on-demand video series with no subscription, along with the latest images, news, mission updates on Artemis and the James Webb Space Telescope, and podcasts with astronauts and experts. It can also alert you when the space station will fly over your location and help you find it in the sky, and it shows rovers and rockets in augmented reality.
See the International Space Station and the night sky
Spot the Station, also from NASA, lists upcoming sightings with visibility data, sends a push notification when the station is approaching your location, and shows it in 2D, 3D and an augmented reality view with a compass and trajectory lines. SkyView Lite uses your camera to spot and identify stars, constellations, galaxies and satellites, day or night.
| App | Best for | What you get | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA Mars Rover PhotosCensuusApp Store | real photos from the surface of Mars | images from Curiosity, Perseverance, Opportunity, Spirit and InSight, jump to any sol | an independent developer, using public NASA imagery |
| NASAApp StoreGoogle Play | NASA news, images and video | NASA+ streaming, images, mission updates, podcasts, ISS alerts, AR | NASA |
| Spot the StationApp Store | seeing the ISS pass overhead | sighting lists, push alerts, 2D and 3D live location, AR view | NASA |
| SkyView LiteApp StoreGoogle Play | identifying stars and constellations | point the camera at the sky to find stars, constellations and satellites | Terminal Eleven |
Frequently asked questions
Is there an app with real photos from the Mars rovers?
Yes. NASA Mars Rover Photos shows images from Curiosity, Perseverance, Opportunity, Spirit and InSight from NASA’s archives, and lets you jump to any sol. It is an independent app, not made by NASA.
Which app tells me when the space station is overhead?
Spot the Station from NASA sends a push notification when the station is approaching your location and lists upcoming sightings. The NASA app can set the same kind of alert.
What app identifies stars when I point my phone at the sky?
SkyView Lite identifies stars, constellations, galaxies and satellites through your camera.