Smithsonian vs Satellite Rotation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Smithsonian
Explore the solar system with interactive games and animations. Learn fascinating facts about planets, moons, and the asteroid belt. Designed for curious young minds to introduce astronomy basics.
- Fascinating facts about the solar system
- Mini games like Space Winter Rush
- Interactive activities
- Educational animations
- Read to Me text
- Collect planet badges
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Join us on an exciting voyage through the solar system! Play, touch, read. and learn facts about the 8 planets in our solar system in this new app from The ©Smithsonian and PlayDate Digital. Designed for curious minds, this app features brilliantly illustrated animations which are sure to engage and entertain. Why is Mars called the Red Planet? Which is the brightest Planet? How many moons does Neptune have? What is the Asteroid Belt? Explore Planets, learn facts, and play games as you rocket through the solar system. Your space enthusiast will love learning all about the wonders of space and the universe. The mini games reinforce the learnings and interactive activities will keep kids engaged. Features: • Lots of fascinating facts about our solar system, its planets, and more! • Featuring mini games including Space Winter Rush, Comet Ceasefire, Solar System Sorting, Gas Planets and more! • Over 10 other interactive activities related to your space adventure. • Educational content and animations will entertain and engage while teaching simple astronomy basics. • ‘Read to Me’ text • Collect solar system and planet badges as you complete each level Planets and the Solar System from ©Smithsonian Kids is designed to deliver on these Learning Goals: • STEM: Introduce young learners to astronomy and science methods. • STEM: Expand young learners' curiosity and knowledge of the world around them. • Counting and Quantifying: Identify and organize groups of objects logically. • Visual Discrimination: Distinguish between different shapes, sizes, colors. • Visual Memory: Remembering and recalling visual information. • Color Recognition and Differentiation: Identifying and naming colors. • Shape Recognition and Classification: Identifying objects based on different shapes. ABOUT THE SMITHSONIAN The ©Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex, dedicated to public education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, ©Smithsonian sciences, and history. The name of the ©Smithsonian Institution and the sunburst logo are registered trademarks of the ©Smithsonian Institution. For more information, please visit www.si.edu ABOUT PLAYDATE DIGITAL PlayDate Digital Inc. is a publisher of high-quality, interactive, mobile educational software for children. PlayDate Digital's products nurture children's emerging literacy and creativity skills by turning digital screens into engaging experiences. PlayDate Digital content is built in partnership with some of the world's most trusted global brands for kids. Visit us: playdatedigital.com Like us: facebook.com/playdatedigital Follow us: @playdatedigital Watch all our app trailers: youtube.com/PlayDateDigital1 HAVE QUESTIONS? We'd love to hear from you! Your questions suggestions and comments are always welcome. Contact us 24/7 at info@playdatedigital.com
Satellite Rotation
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These are 3D animations of the top 10 largest satellites in the solar system. 1.Ganymede : Satellite of Jupiter radius : 2,632km (1.52 times the moon) 2.Titan : Satellite of Saturn radius : 2,575km (1.48 times the moon) 3.Callisto : Satellite of Jupiter radius : 2,409km (1.39 times the moon) 4.Io : Satellite of Jupiter radius : 1,821km (1.05 times the moon) 5.Moon : Satellite of Earth radius : 1,737km 6.Europa : Satellite of Jupiter radius : 1,562km (0.9 times the moon) 7.Triton : Satellite of Neptune radius : 1,353km (0.78 times the moon) 8.Titania : Satellite of Uranus radius : 789km (0.45 times the moon) 9.Rhea : Satellite of Saturn radius : 764km (0.44 times the moon) 10.Oberon : Satellite of Uranus radius : 761km (0.44 times the moon) ・You can change the rotation speed of the satellite. ・When you press the button, the angle of the sun changes by 30 degrees each time. ・The fastest thing is one revolution per second.The slowest thing is one rotation in 300 seconds (5 minutes). ・When checked, reverse rotation will occur.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Smithsonian at Free against Satellite Rotation's $0.99. Smithsonian also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 7 months). Satellite Rotation's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On ads 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
Smithsonian is free to download; Satellite Rotation costs $0.99 up front. Smithsonian sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Satellite Rotation asks for nothing beyond the download.
Smithsonian ships an update every 3 months, Satellite Rotation every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Smithsonian | Satellite Rotation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 285 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | PlayDate Digital Inc. | Masahiro Tomosada |
In-app purchases
Smithsonian
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Buy 5 Planets$2.99
Satellite Rotation
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Smithsonian free?
Is Satellite Rotation free?
Do Smithsonian or Satellite Rotation have ads?
Which is updated more often, Smithsonian or Satellite Rotation?
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