In honor of the 15-year anniversary of the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope’s launch, the agency released its cosmic selfie app, NASA Selfies, in addition to a new VR application that takes users on an interplanetary space voyage, according to Download.
Users can take a selfie in the application, which then uploads into its own virtual spacesuit, placing it over the galactic background of your choosing. The app comes fully stocked with a wide range of backdrop selections including the Andromeda Galaxy, a Helix Nebula, and the Pleiades Star Cluster. Each spaced-out image was captured by NASA‘s Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer Space Telescopes as well as the agency’s Great Observatories and other devices.
Each picture comes with information about the stars and galaxies found within the image. People are already having a blast with it.
https://twitter.com/daddyissues/status/1032359344724037632
I'm boldly going. via @NASA Selfies app. pic.twitter.com/JMUcpTz1U6
— David Blanchflower BSc (@DavidBflower) August 23, 2018
Download the NASA Selfies app and have some out of this world fun with your students! #NASASelfie #MakeLearningFunAgain pic.twitter.com/KsM8wzRTUJ
— Humble ISD Elementary Science (@Humble_Science) August 23, 2018
Let’s face it, you just can’t beat cats in spacesuits.
The new NASA Selfies app by @NASAJPL is awesome! Even more awesome is the fact that it works with cats (when they stay still). Meet Maple the #catastronaut, currently exploring the Milky Way. #spacecat pic.twitter.com/L5s6yfQNwa
— Ehlmann Research Group, Caltech (@EhlmannLab) August 23, 2018
This new “@NASA Selfies” app got me feeling spacey this morning! Jinx & I are off exploring the distant reaches of space. Though, she doesn’t look all that thrilled about it. Ha! pic.twitter.com/u5L8sMdolR
— Min Diesel (@MCapp22) August 23, 2018
Another app released by the agency in honor of the SST launch anniversary is NASA’s Exoplanet Excursion VR Experience. The virtual-reality simulator takes viewers on an intimate trip through the TRAPPIST-1 star system which possesses several Earth-sized planets orbiting a star greater than the size of Jupiter.
NASA Selfies is available on iOS and Android. NASA’s new VR app is available on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well as YouTube 360 video where it can be viewed without a virtual-reality headset.
H/T Download