# ESA cryosat vs ISS Explorer

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ISS Explorer at 100% against ESA cryosat's 50%. ESA cryosat's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 13.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ESA cryosat ships an update every 6 months, ISS Explorer every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ESA cryosat | ISS Explorer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[4.9 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iss-explorer/id1429876038/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **16** |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 months** | Every 10 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 115 MB | 747 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ESA - European Space Agency](https://appshunter.io/developer/429660009) | [NASA](https://appshunter.io/developer/355542146) |

## What reviewers say

### ESA cryosat

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esa-cryosat/id484020380)

Explore a comprehensive overview of a European Space Agency ice mission, including its unique space and ground segments. Discover real mission measurements, visualize data on a world map, and interact with a 3D satellite model.

**Highlights:** CryoSat mission description, Photos and videos, Mission news updates, Interactive 3D satellite model, World map with orbit position, Visualization of real measurements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### ISS Explorer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iss-explorer/id1429876038)

Explore a detailed 3D model of the International Space Station. Rotate, zoom, and select individual components to learn about their function and systems. Organize your view by turning parts and labels on or off.

**Highlights:** Interactive 3D ISS model, Rotate and zoom functionality, Selectable parts with isolation, Detailed information on components, Hierarchical part organization, Toggle parts and labels

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ESA cryosat free?

ESA cryosat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ISS Explorer free?

ISS Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do ESA cryosat or ISS Explorer have ads?

Neither ESA cryosat nor ISS Explorer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ESA cryosat or ISS Explorer?

ESA cryosat ships an update every 6 months, and ISS Explorer every 10 months. Most recently, ESA cryosat was updated on October 25, 2026 and ISS Explorer on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*