Backyard Apollo AR vs JFK Moonshot
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backyard Apollo AR
Experience a life-sized Apollo Saturn V rocket in augmented reality. Explore it from all angles, walk around it, and launch it with realistic sounds and visuals. Customize your rocket experience and share snapshots.
- Life-sized rocket model
- 360-degree viewing
- Augmented reality placement
- Realistic launch sequence
- Authentic mission sounds
- Customizable rocket experience
- Snapshot sharing
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Its the model rocket you’ve always wanted! See a life-sized Apollo Saturn V rocket up close from every angle walk under and around it, then blast it off! Authentic mission sounds using 3D positional audio — wear headphones for the coolest effect — combine with realistic high-detail graphics, physically-based rendering, and HDR audio recordings of real rocket launches to make the experience just like being there! You’ll be able to launch your rocket again and again, from anywhere you like. Just tap where you want your rocket to appear. It's that easy! Launch a tiny model on your desktop or a full-sized giant in a field! Backyard Apollo offers ways to customize your experience too, making it even more fun to launch your rockets and take snapshots for your friends. “3…2…1…Houston: we have liftoff”!
JFK Moonshot
Explore the Apollo 11 mission in augmented reality. Witness a full-scale Saturn V rocket, track the mission in real-time, and engage with interactive games and archival footage. Experience President Kennedy's vision brought to life.
- Augmented reality rocket recreation
- Real-time mission tracking
- Interactive AR games
- Archival NASA footage
- Educational multimedia
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Using the latest in augmented reality technology, we immerse users into 1969 with a full-scale recreation of the Saturn V rocket and a 5-day real-time tracking simulation of the mission and moon landing. Users can take a deeper dive into President Kennedy’s vision with interactive AR games, archival NASA footage and educational multimedia experiences.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: JFK Moonshot at monthly against Backyard Apollo AR's every 7 months. JFK Moonshot also leads on iOS requirement (11.3 vs 15.6). Backyard Apollo AR's advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 198). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Backyard Apollo AR against 4.6 for JFK Moonshot. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backyard Apollo AR has 1.5K ratings behind it against 198, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Backyard Apollo AR's written reviews are positive against 64% of JFK Moonshot's.
Backyard Apollo AR ships an update every 7 months, JFK Moonshot monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backyard Apollo AR | JFK Moonshot |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better | 4.6 (198 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.6% of reviews — better | 63.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 198 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 11.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 734 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wobbleworks LLC | John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library Foundation Incorporated |
Customer experience
Backyard Apollo AR
JFK Moonshot
Bugs and requests
Backyard Apollo AR
Reported bugs
3 issues- Startup crashes and sensor reset loops
- Rocket launch sequence freezes
- Persistent audio issues after app closure
Requested features
3 requests- Add more rocket models and launch configurations
- Implement video recording capability
- Improve overall stability and performance
JFK Moonshot
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Backyard Apollo AR
No in-app purchases
JFK Moonshot
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Backyard Apollo AR free?
Is JFK Moonshot free?
Which has better reviews, Backyard Apollo AR or JFK Moonshot?
Do Backyard Apollo AR or JFK Moonshot have ads?
Which is updated more often, Backyard Apollo AR or JFK Moonshot?
Other comparisons
