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4 min read 5 stepsApril 20, 2026Verified April 2026

NASA App: Explore Space Images, Science News, and Live Mission Streams

The official NASA app is a free gateway to stunning space images, breaking science news, and live streams of rocket launches and space station activity.

At a Glance

Download the NASA app

~26s

Search for "NASA" in the App Store or Google Play. The official app is published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — look for that name in the developer field to confirm you have the right one. Download and open it. No account is required, though you can create one to save favorite content.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: Allow push notifications when the app asks. NASA sends alerts for major events like rocket launches and significant discoveries — these are worth receiving.

Browse the image gallery

~28s

Tap "Images" from the bottom navigation bar. The NASA image library contains hundreds of thousands of photos from telescopes, space missions, astronaut cameras, and research facilities. You can browse by collection, search by keyword (try "Jupiter," "nebula," or "Mars rover"), or filter by date. Any image can be saved to your phone or shared directly from the app.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: The Hubble Space Telescope gallery contains some of the most extraordinary images ever captured. Search "Hubble" to find a collection spanning more than 30 years of observations.

Watch live NASA TV

~20s

Tap "Live" or "NASA TV" from the navigation menu. NASA TV broadcasts 24 hours a day and covers live rocket launches, press briefings, spacewalks from the International Space Station, and documentary programming. If a launch or spacewalk is happening, the app shows a banner alert on the home screen. The video stream is free and does not require any login.

Check the Astronomy Picture of the Day

~26s

Every day, NASA's website and app feature one new "Astronomy Picture of the Day" — a photo or video selected by professional astronomers with a written explanation. To find it, look for "APOD" in the app's menu or search bar. Past entries are also archived and searchable. This is a good daily habit for anyone curious about the universe — even a few minutes a day adds up to a significant amount of space knowledge over time.

Follow active missions

~20s

Tap "Missions" to see a list of NASA's current and upcoming space missions. Each mission page has a plain-language description of what it is doing, where the spacecraft is right now (for probes already launched), and recent news. Major missions like the Mars Perseverance Rover and Artemis Moon program have dedicated sections with updates, photos from the mission, and explanatory videos.

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The NASA app is the official mobile application from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the US government agency responsible for space exploration and aeronautics research. It is completely free, with no ads or in-app purchases, and provides direct access to NASA's entire public library of images, videos, and news content.

If you have ever seen a breathtaking photo of a distant galaxy or the surface of Mars and wondered where to find more like it, the NASA app is the answer. The app pulls from the same image libraries that NASA publishes for the press and scientific community, which means you are seeing the same stunning content as researchers and journalists — without needing any scientific background to appreciate it.

The app's home screen shows a feed of the latest NASA news, mission updates, and featured images. The Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is one of the most popular features — every day, NASA selects one image or video of an astronomical phenomenon and provides a brief expert explanation written in accessible language.

The NASA app also provides access to live and recorded video streams of rocket launches, spacewalks, and NASA TV programming. When a major launch is scheduled, you can watch it live from your phone. The app sends push notifications for upcoming launches and significant mission milestones so you do not miss them.

Available for free on iPhone and Android, the NASA app is one of the best free science resources available to the public.

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