Space may be the final frontier, but technology takes the average person a step closer to touching it each and every day. Most of us will never board a shuttle headed for the moon, or even take one of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flights (which currently run at $200K a pop), despite the fact that he plans to make them as commonplace as the average airline trip. But thanks to increasing modes of connectivity, anyone with a smartphone or tablet can learn about the heavens, view celestial bodies up close, and virtually tour aeronautics and space facilities. And if you’re not keen to pay for the ‘Star Walk’ app that became popular when it was featured in ads for the iPad, then there is one great freebie you’ll definitely want to check out.

The NASA application doesn’t necessarily tell you which stars you’re gazing at in the night sky at any given time, but it does offer a gallery of more than 150,000 high quality images to pursue, with a database of space-related imagery that continues to grow. And that’s just the beginning. When you download this free application you’ll gain access to all things NASA, and you might be surprised by what that entails. For one thing, you’ll be able to learn about current missions in the works at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including information on launch dates and countdowns. But you’ll also be able to watch NASA TV, a live feed that gives you a glimpse of what’s happening at various NASA facilities at any given time. In addition you can select any number of on-demand videos to watch, as well as checking out the latest news pertaining to all things space.

But it doesn’t end there. The “featured” section will clue you in to items of interest that may strike your fancy, you can take virtual tours of NASA facilities and get the information you need to visit them (directions, hours of operation, etc.), and you can even read tweets from actual astronauts and other employees of NASA, making you feel like you’re inside the action at the organization at the forefront of space travel. You might also want to track the ISS and other satellites so you know when to look up into the sky to see them passing overhead. Thanks to a newly added feature that incorporates weather patterns, the app can even tell you when you shouldn’t bother setting your alarm for a late-night pass because it will be too cloudy to see anyway.

You will also enjoy the recently added “programs” section, as well as the updated interface (especially if you have access to the retina display on the iPad). Of course, the best things about this app are the features that most users are starting to expect: it’s free, there are no ads, and you can bookmark and share favorites with friends on Facebook and Twitter. It may not be as exciting as ordering chemicals for science projects from chemical wire, seeing what happens when you drop a penny in a centrifuge, or having an app that maps out constellations for you. But it’s free, fun, and packed with stellar content, which makes it a must for anyone who has looked into the night sky and dreamed of floating through space.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

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