NASA Spinoff vs Galaxy Map
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NASA Spinoff
Discover how NASA technology benefits everyday life through commercial products. Explore innovations from life-saving satellite systems to hospital robots, showcasing the impact of space research on society. Find shortened articles from the latest Spinoff edition.
- Profiles NASA technology transfers
- Highlights commercial products
- Showcases societal benefits
- Features shortened articles
- Access latest Spinoff edition content
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NASA Spinoff profiles the best examples of technology that have been transferred from NASA research and missions into commercial products. From life-saving satellite systems to hospital robots that care for patients and more, NASA technologies benefit society. There’s more space in your life than you think! This app features shortened versions of all of the articles from the latest edition of Spinoff, which is available in print, PDF, and HTML versions at http://spinoff.nasa.gov.
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 review sentiment: Galaxy Map at 80% against NASA Spinoff's 0%. Galaxy Map also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 12 months). NASA Spinoff's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. NASA Spinoff asks for nothing beyond the download.
Galaxy Map holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Galaxy Map has 609 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of NASA Spinoff's written reviews are positive against 80% of Galaxy Map's.
NASA Spinoff ships an update every 12 months, Galaxy Map monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NASA Spinoff | Galaxy Map |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (4 ratings) | 4.6 (609 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 79.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 609 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 632 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NASA | Andrei Nistorescu |
Customer experience
NASA Spinoff
Galaxy Map
Bugs and requests
NASA Spinoff
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
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
NASA Spinoff
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
