Mars Walk VR vs Mars
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mars Walk VR
Embark on an educational virtual reality tour of the red planet. Explore Martian landscapes, visit historic landing sites, and witness scientific instruments in action. This immersive experience brings the wonders of Mars directly to your smartphone.
- Explore Mars surface and landing sites
- Experience Martian dust storms
- Observe scientific instruments on Mars
- Visit historic Viking landers
- Follow Curiosity rover's sample collection
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The first people who will visit Mars are sitting in a school today. To help inspire these students, Lockheed Martin created Mars Walk. A virtual reality adventure you can experience using your own smartphone. Mars Walk provides a fun, interactive, and educational tour of the red planet in a stunning VR experience. Explore Mars – on your phone. Download today. A cardboard VR device is required. Thanks to our partners NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). FEATURES: - Walk the surface of Mars and explore the landing sites for InSight, Viking and Curiosity. - Experience dust storms at the Northern Crater - Observe InSight and Viking as they gather information about Mars - Visit one of the famous Viking landers that landed more than 40 years ago - Follow Curiosity as it navigates the red surface collecting samples
Mars
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Humanity’s fascination with the Red Planet has never been stronger. With the completely reimagined "Mars: Curiosity" app, we bring the frontiers of space exploration directly to your fingertips through a premium, state-of-the-art experience. Witness Mars as if you were standing on its dusty plains. Our latest update introduces a stunning modern interface featuring glassmorphism elements, dynamic background animations, and an overall design language inspired by the future of space travel. WHAT’S NEW & REIMAGINED: SMART SEARCH & DISCOVERY: Quickly find exactly what you’re looking for with our new global search feature in both the Browse and Video sections. IMMERSIVE VIDEO EXPERIENCE: Watch Curiosity’s journey in high-definition with our all-new video player. Now supporting landscape mode for a true cinema feel, smart autoplay with preview protection, and an elegant Apple TV-inspired layout. MODERN DESIGN SYSTEM: Experience a "alive" interface with subtle stars animations, glass-like cards, and haptic feedback that makes exploring feel tactile and premium. KEY FEATURES: EXPLORE (BROWSE): Navigate through hundreds of official NASA photos with ease. Toggle between grid and list views, shuffle your findings, and search specifically for the missions that interest you most. CINEMATIC SLIDESHOW: Lose yourself in the Martian landscape. Browse full-screen, high-resolution imagery that makes you feel truly present on the planet. HD VIDEO ARCHIVE: Dive deep into Gale Crater, learn about Curiosity’s historic achievements, and explore over 50 years of Martian research through curated video content. INTERACTIVE GALLERY: Examine every detail with intuitive pinch-to-zoom gestures and high-contrast viewing modes. 3D MODELS: Step into the third dimension with interactive models that bring Martian topography and hardware to life. Whether you are a casual observer or a dedicated space enthusiast, Mars: Curiosity provides a compact, powerful, and visually stunning window into the future of our species on another world.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mars at 5.0 against Mars Walk VR's 2.5. Mars Walk VR's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 32 months). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mars holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mars Walk VR has 31 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Mars Walk VR ships an update every 2 weeks, Mars every 32 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Mars Walk VR | Mars |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (31 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 31 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 32 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 736 MB | 108 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Lockheed Martin | Alparslan Topbas |
In-app purchases
Mars Walk VR
No in-app purchases
Mars
No in-app purchases









