Ascent vs Spacecraft AR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ascent
Explore stunning Shuttle mission footage with commentary, additional scenes, and production notes. This educational compilation offers a deep dive into the STS-114, STS-117, and STS-124 missions.
- Ground-based Shuttle motion imagery
- STS-114, STS-117, and STS-124 mission footage
- Includes commentary
- Additional scenes
- Selected images
- Production notes
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Ascent is a compilation of film and video representing the best of the best ground based Shuttle motion imagery from the STS-114, STS-117, and STS-124 missions. This app includes the entire Ascent production with commentary, numerous additional scenes, selected images, and production notes.
Spacecraft AR
Explore the solar system with interactive 3D models of NASA spacecraft. View them in augmented reality, scaled to your environment, and learn about their missions. Perfect for aspiring astronauts, educators, and space lovers.
- Interactive 3D spacecraft models
- Augmented reality viewing
- True-to-life and adjustable scaling
- Detailed mission information
- In-app camera functionality
- Explore Earth, Mars, and beyond
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Created by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this stunning educational app uses native mobile augmented reality to bring spacecraft explorers from across the solar system to whatever space you’re in. Find a flat surface and view interactive 3D models right in front of you, scaled to table-top size or in their true-to-life proportions. Take pics with the spacecraft in your favorite environments, and explore detailed info about their fascinating missions. This tool is excellent for budding astronauts, teachers, and space enthusiasts. Bring NASA’s journey of exploration to life in the classroom, home, or anywhere. Features: Interact with 3D spacecraft models of the Curiosity rover, Mars Exploration Rover (Spirit/Opportunity), InSightSMAP, Voyager, Juno, and Cassini, the 70-Meter Deep Space Network Antenna and more. Learn about missions that explore Earth, Mars, and beyond True-to-life and adjustable size interaction In-depth information about each space mission Camera functionality
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ascent at 4.6 against Spacecraft AR's 3.1. Ascent also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 53%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). Spacecraft AR's advantage is update cadence (every 7 months vs every 46 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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.
Ascent holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 25 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Ascent's written reviews are positive against 53% of Spacecraft AR's.
Ascent ships an update every 46 months, Spacecraft AR every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ascent | Spacecraft AR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (16 ratings) — better | 3.1 (25 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.5% of reviews — better | 53.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 25 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 46 months | Every 7 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 731 MB | 160 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NASA | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
Customer experience
Ascent
Spacecraft AR
In-app purchases
Ascent
No in-app purchases
Spacecraft AR
No in-app purchases
