Mars Globe vs Galaxy Map
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mars Globe
Explore the Red Planet with a detailed virtual globe. This app features high-resolution satellite maps, altimeter data, and advanced topographic lighting to showcase Mars' surface. Discover over 1500 annotated features and enjoy an introductory guided tour.
- High-resolution satellite map
- Laser altimeter data
- Advanced topographic lighting
- Annotated surface features
- Introduction and guided tour
- Free exploration
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Take a tour of the mysterious Red Planet. This virtual globe combines a high-resolution satellite map with laser altimeter data and advanced topographic lighting to present the planet Mars as it appears from above. An Introduction and Guided Tour present some of Mars' most intriguing features. You can leave the guided tour and explore Mars as you like; over 1500 surface features have been annotated with information and links. Mars Globe is a must-have app for anyone interested in our solar system.
Galaxy Map
Explore the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies in an interactive 3D map. Discover nebulae, supernovae, and planets, with stunning visuals based on NASA data. Ideal for education and space enthusiasts.
- Interactive 3D galaxy map
- Explore nebulae and supernovae
- Fly through planetary atmospheres
- Land on planets
- Based on NASA data
- Available in 100+ languages
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The galaxy map is an interactive map of the Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda and their satellite galaxies. Explore the Orion Arm's nebulae and supernovae from the comfort of your spaceship. Fly through the atmosphere of Mars and many other planets and you can even land on them. Discover the galaxy in a stunning three dimensional map based on NASA's artistic impression of the Milky Way galactic structure. Photos are taken by NASA spacecraft and ground based telescopes like Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray, Herschel Space Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. This interactive 3D map is excellent for teachers to use for instruction, and it is a great astronomy resource for students to explore the Milky Way galaxy and space as they learn more about the universe we live in. Available in over 100 languages! You can also From the outskirts of the galaxy, in the Norma-Outer spiral arm to the galactic center's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, discover a galaxy full of amazing facts. Notable structures included: the Pillars of Creation, Helix Nebula, the Engraved Hourglass Nebula, the Pleiades, the Orion Arm (where the solar system and the Earth are located) with its Orion belt. Check out neighboring dwarf galaxies such as Sagittarius and the Canis Major Overdensity, stellar streams as well as internal galactic components such as a variety of nebulae, star clusters or supernovae. Explore space and get a little closer to our wonderful universe with this awesome astronomy app! The Galaxy Map requires internet access to retrieve information from the wiki.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mars Globe at none against Galaxy Map's 13. Mars Globe also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (91% vs 80%). Galaxy Map's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Galaxy Map sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Mars Globe asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Mars Globe against 4.6 for Galaxy Map. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 337 and 600 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Mars Globe's written reviews are positive against 80% of Galaxy Map's.
Mars Globe ships an update every 3 months, Galaxy Map every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mars Globe | Galaxy Map |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (337 ratings) — better | 4.6 (600 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.7% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 337 | 600 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 613 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Midnight Martian | Andrei Nistorescu |
Customer experience
Mars Globe
Galaxy Map
User reviews
Mars Globe
From 337 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth and fast
- 📚 Detailed and informative
- 🌍 Realistic 3D globe
- 🔍 Ability to explore and zoom
- 🎨 Adjustable lighting and visuals
Room to improve
- 🔍 Limited zoom capability
- 🕰️ Outdated information (missing recent missions)
- 🗺️ Distortion when panning/rotating globe
- 🖼️ Could use higher resolution imagery
Galaxy Map
From 600 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌌 Impressive 3D galaxy and nebula visualizations
- 🚀 Spaceship exploration feature with landing capability
- 📚 Educational content about space and astronomy
- 🎮 Fun and engaging gameplay mechanics
- ✨ No ads in free version
Room to improve
- 💰 Excessive paywall for most content
- 🐛 App crashes and fails to load
- 🎮 Poor control mechanics for flying and walking
- 🔍 Lack of zoom functionality or unclear controls
- 🌑 Black holes look too similar to each other
Bugs and requests
Mars Globe
Reported bugs
2 issues- Occasional crashes or freezes
- Compatibility issues on older devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for other planets and moons
- Integrate real-time data from active Mars missions
- Implement a search function to quickly find locations
- Add an option to view Mars from an Earth-based perspective
Galaxy Map
Reported bugs
9 issues- App crashes on startup
- Explore button shows nothing
- Pinch-to-zoom doesn't work
- App won't load on iPad
- Text displays as boxes in language settings
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- Mars moon orbital speed incorrect
- App kicks users out during exploration
- Loading issues and incomplete functionality
- Inconsistent performance across platforms
Requested features
18 requests- Search button to find galaxies and objects
- More diverse and realistic black hole designs
- AR feature to identify stars/planets in real sky
- More free content and objects
- Exoplanet additions (TRAPPIST-1e, J1407B)
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- Ability to click on stars within galaxies for details
- Generated planets around stars
- Sandbox/creation mode for user-generated content
- Animation for Milky Way and Andromeda
- More galaxy variety in the app
- Coordinates filter for objects
- Space-Engine style gameplay
- Flying through galaxies feature
- More female character customization options
- VIP version option
- Brown dwarfs addition
- Photosphere viewing mode
- More detailed star information
In-app purchases
Mars Globe
No in-app purchases
Galaxy Map
- Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$0.99
- Buy ship - Alien fighter$0.99
- Remove ads$1.99
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- Buy ship - Alien Destroyer$1.99
- Buy ship - Alien fighter$1.99
- 3D Visualization Pack$1.99
- Buy ship - Dragon Frigate$1.99
- Essentials bundle - SALE$2.99
- Remove ads$3.99
- 3D Visualization Pack$3.99
- Ultimate bundle - SALE$4.99
- Essentials bundle$4.99
- Ultimate bundle$8.99
