Free astronomy apps for Apple Vision Pro (2026)
The free astronomy and space apps on Apple Vision Pro, split honestly into the ones with nothing to buy and the ones that are free to download with paid extras, from sky atlases and a free 3D universe to NASA's Mars rover, the live space station and galaxy simulations. Each described from its own App Store listing, by the maker of one of them.
The best free astronomy apps for Apple Vision Pro are Orbis Caeli XR (an immersive atlas of the sky), Celestia XR (a free 3D universe), Exploring Mars from NASA JPL, StratoSync (the Earth and the live Space Station) and APOD, all free with nothing to buy. Space Vision, Caelum, Astronoma, Sky Guide, Night Sky (iCandi Apps) and Everdust are free to download with optional paid extras.
I make Everdust, one of the apps below, so read this with that in mind. Every other app is described from what its own App Store listing says, and "free" here means what the listing shows: either nothing to buy at all, or free to download with optional purchases. Everything was checked on the US App Store on October 27, 2026; listings change, so check before you download.
The short answer
Free, with nothing to buy:
- Orbis Caeli XR: an immersive atlas of the sky and its motions.
- Celestia XR: fly anywhere in a 3D model of the universe.
- Exploring Mars: NASA JPL's Perseverance rover in your room, then on Mars.
- StratoSync: the Earth and the live International Space Station.
- APOD: Astronomy Photos: NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day as a slideshow.
Free to download, with optional paid extras:
- Space Vision: the solar system on NASA data, with the Voyager 1 mission free.
- Caelum: a planetarium of the real sky around you.
- Astronoma: a space museum of images, spacecraft and history.
- Everdust: galaxy collisions and black holes as live simulations, physics games, and Everdust's Night Sky for flying from the real sky into nebulae and galaxies.
- Sky Guide and Night Sky (iCandi Apps): the popular iPhone star maps, also offered on Vision Pro.
Free, with nothing to buy
Orbis Caeli XR
Orbis Caeli XR by Jean Charles Korta is "an immersive visual atlas of astronomy" for Vision Pro. Its listing describes a celestial sphere you look around from inside, with time and location controls, overlays for constellation boundaries, the equatorial grid, the meridian and the ecliptic, and events such as rising, transit and setting, solstices, equinoxes and lunar phases. Free, with no in-app purchases.
Pick it if you want to understand why the sky moves the way it does.
Celestia XR
Celestia XR, listed under Linfeng Li, brings Celestia, the long-running free 3D space simulator, to Vision Pro. Its listing describes visiting any object in its database, from planets and moons to star clusters and galaxies, from any point in space and time, with solar-system positions calculated in real time. Free, with no in-app purchases.
Pick it if you want to go anywhere in the universe, at any date, for free.
Exploring Mars
Exploring Mars is from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It brings the Perseverance rover into your room, from lap size to actual size, with photos and specifications of its parts. "Take me to Mars" then stands you beside it in Jezero Crater, reconstructed from the rover's own images, with sound recorded on Mars by Perseverance and the InSight lander. Free, with no in-app purchases.
Pick it if you want to stand on Mars as faithfully as NASA can build it.
StratoSync
StratoSync by durul dalkanat puts the Earth, lit by the Sun's current position, and the live journey of the International Space Station in your room. It also has three computed immersive environments: Aurora, Star Nest and Dusty Nebula. Free, with no in-app purchases.
Pick it if you want to watch the space station go round the real Earth right now.
APOD: Astronomy Photos
APOD: Astronomy Photos by Roadfire Software shows NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day as a slideshow in your room, with the description of each photo a tap away. It's free, with no in-app purchases, and also on Apple TV. The listing was last updated in February 2024.
Pick it if you want a window of real space photography to keep open while you work.
Two more free ones from one developer
Masaya Nagaoka's Portable Planetarium Voyage places a celestial sphere of the brighter stars from the Hipparcos catalog, with constellation lines and the planets, around a small Earth model in front of you. Real Solar System Voyage puts a tabletop solar system in front of you with planet positions taken from NASA's Horizons system. Both are free with no in-app purchases; both were last updated in late 2024.
Free to download, with optional paid extras
Space Vision
Space Vision by Visionly is built only for Vision Pro and driven by NASA JPL data. Its listing says the solar system simulation and the Voyager 1 mission are free; its SV+ subscription unlocks more missions and features.
Pick it if you want accurate orbits and real spacecraft, and you're happy with the free tier or a subscription.
Caelum: Spatial Planetarium
Caelum by Momentarium is a planetarium designed for visionOS: stars, constellations and the Milky Way placed around your room, aligned to your location, with time controls, deep-sky objects and an ambient soundscape. Free to download, with a paid Pro+ upgrade.
Pick it if you want to sit inside the real night sky.
Astronoma
Astronoma, listed under Miguel Garcia Gonzalez, is a space museum: telescope images from NASA, ESA and others with audio commentary, 3D models of spacecraft and planets you can turn by hand, stories of astronomers and astronauts, telescope footage and 8K 360° simulations, and a 3D map of launch sites. Free to download; some exhibitions, such as Spacewalks and Hubble Volume I, are sold separately.
Pick it if you want real images and real hardware, with the history behind them.
Everdust
Everdust is the one I make. It's a universe simulator first: every world is a live particle simulation, not a video, that moves with your hands and your music. Since version 1.1 it also has Everdust's Night Sky, the real sky with flights to the planets and deep-sky wonders, and Solar System to Scale.
- Galaxy Collision: up to about a million stars pulled by gravity, on your table or all around you.
- Black holes that bend light, including a spinning one you can walk up to.
- Everdust's Night Sky: the real night sky around you for your place and time. Look at a planet, the Sun or a deep-sky wonder and pinch to fly there, into real telescope photographs given depth. Free, every wonder included.
- Solar System to Scale: choose how big the Sun is and walk out to Neptune with every size and distance true, or set planets and stars side by side.
- Hand-tracked games on the same physics: Black Hole Golf, Galaxy Billiards and Lightfold, all free in full.
- The Story of Everything, narrated, from the first light after the Big Bang onward, free in full.
It's free to download, with no ads and no account. Everdust Plus, an optional in-app purchase, unlocks the rest of the other Stories and games. You can try the galaxy collision simulator in a web browser first, or turn a photo of the night sky into particles with the free photo to particles tool.
Pick it if you want to see how galaxies and black holes behave, and play with them, or fly into the nebulae in tonight's sky.
Sky Guide and Night Sky (iCandi Apps)
Sky Guide by Fifth Star Labs and Night Sky by iCandi Apps are the best-known star maps on iPhone, and the App Store also offers them on Vision Pro. Both identify stars, planets, constellations and satellites, are free to download and sell subscriptions for more; Night Sky's AI astronomer, Aura, needs its own subscription. (iCandi's Night Sky isn't related to Everdust's Night Sky, the feature inside Everdust above.)
Pick them if you already use one on your iPhone and want the same app in the headset.
Worth paying for
If you'll spend a few dollars, AstrotouR by The Highland Cow is a calm, curated observatory of the Sun, the planets, the Milky Way and its central black hole, with more than 300 articles, sold once for both iPhone and Vision Pro with no in-app purchases. For a fuller comparison, including paid apps, see the best Vision Pro apps for space and astronomy.
How to choose
- Learn the sky: Orbis Caeli XR, or Caelum for a planetarium mood.
- Explore beyond the sky: Celestia XR, free with nothing to buy.
- Real places and real photos: Exploring Mars, StratoSync and APOD.
- Real orbits and missions: Space Vision's free tier.
- Touch the physics, or fly into a nebula: Everdust.
They're all free to try, so install two or three and keep the one you open again.
To know what's up before you put the headset on, what's in my sky tonight works it out in your browser for your location, and the sky guide covers each planet and bright deep-sky object.
Questions people ask
What is the best free astronomy app for Apple Vision Pro? For learning the sky with nothing to buy, Orbis Caeli XR. For exploring the universe for free, Celestia XR. Exploring Mars, from NASA's JPL, and StratoSync, with the live space station, are free with nothing to buy too. Space Vision, Caelum, Astronoma and Everdust are free to download with optional paid extras; Everdust's Night Sky and Solar System to Scale are free in full.
Is there a free planetarium app for Vision Pro? Yes. Orbis Caeli XR is free with no in-app purchases, and Portable Planetarium Voyage is a simpler free one. Caelum: Spatial Planetarium is free to download, with a paid Pro+ upgrade.
Which Vision Pro space apps have no in-app purchases at all? Orbis Caeli XR, Celestia XR, Exploring Mars, StratoSync, APOD: Astronomy Photos, Portable Planetarium Voyage and Real Solar System Voyage, per their App Store listings on October 27, 2026.
Is there a free galaxy or black hole app for Vision Pro? Everdust is free to download and runs a galaxy collision and a spinning black hole as live simulations you can reach into. Celestia XR lets you fly to galaxies for free. For apps on other devices, see galaxy simulator apps on every platform.
Can I see the International Space Station on Vision Pro? Yes. StratoSync shows the station's live position, altitude and speed above a sunlit Earth in your room, for free.
Is there a free NASA app for Vision Pro? Exploring Mars is NASA JPL's own free app for Vision Pro. Space Vision, Real Solar System Voyage and APOD: Astronomy Photos use NASA data or images but come from independent developers.
Sources
- Each app's own App Store listing, linked in its section, checked on the US App Store on October 27, 2026 (price, in-app purchases, devices and last update)
- NASA, Astronomy Picture of the Day
- NASA JPL, Horizons System