Emre's Picks: Check out these quality space apps
- Lifeline%3A %242.99%3B iOS only
- F-Sim space shuttle%3A %244.99%3B iOS and Android
- Living Earth%3A %240.99%3B iOS only
Strong apps with a local connection are hard to find, but the three below shine in categories that many in Brevard County can appreciate: science and space.
Taking my passion for both of those topics into account, here's my take on three mobile apps worth checking out:
Lifeline
"Incoming communication."
That's the first message you receive when you launch Lifeline, an app available for iOS devices in Apple's App Store.
Taylor, a young and relatively new astronaut, is stranded after a spaceship he was serving on crash lands on a moon. He begins looking to you, the only person he can reach on his communicator, for help.
Now this $2.99 app doesn't feature cutting-edge graphics with weapons, explosions and detailed space scenes – instead, it's all based on text and push alerts you receive from Taylor.
After he sends you a few messages, you have an opportunity to direct his path. Should he head for the crash site, or try to find supplies elsewhere on the barren moon? Should he go to sleep, or investigate those strange sounds?
You have two choices each time Taylor needs direction, so you influence the storyline. Going back and replaying certain portions can lead to different outcomes.
Perhaps the most interesting part about the app is that Taylor requires time to finish tasks. If you advise him that it's probably time to go to sleep, he won't send any messages for several hours. When he does, they start to appear as push alerts on all your devices.
The time commitment is low — perhaps 30 seconds or a minute each time you open the app. But you'll find that as you progress, you're drawn into his journey, almost as if it were a novella.
The interactive story works on all iOS devices: iPhone, iPad and even Apple Watch. Get the app here.
F-Sim Space Shuttle
Hailed by many as one of the best flight simulation apps available, F-Sim Space Shuttle puts you in the cockpit of an orbiter as it approaches a landing facility.
It's an old app that was last updated in 2013, but the $4.99 simulator features decent graphics, life-like communications with the control tower and plenty of customization. You even get to choose which facility you'd like to approach: Edwards Air Force Base in California or Kennedy Space Center.
Also in your hands: Time of day, visibility, winds, turbulence and even temperature, to name a few.
The gameplay is straightforward: You can either tilt or rotate your device to control the orbiter, or you can opt for an on-screen joystick.
Although space shuttles approached landing facilities without engines powered on, the game manages to keep you interested – and that's probably why. The idea of not having to fidget with engines like other simulation apps lets you focus on landing the orbiter properly.
F-Sim Space Shuttle is available for both iOS and Android devices. Get it here for iOS and here for Android.
Living Earth
Simply put, Living Earth is a beautiful app.
Story continues below:
For $2.99 (on promotion for 99 cents until May 28), you get a basic interface that puts an interactive, 3-D view of the Earth in your hands. It rotates slowly and places a blue dot on your current position while simultaneously displaying real-time clouds, weather and the time. It also displays the terminator, which is the line that separates day from night on the surface of the Earth.
You can view global maps representing temperature, wind, humidity and variations of each of those. It even includes real-time data of tropical cyclones, if available.
All in all, this iOS exclusive is a great app to open and leave running on a dining room table or kitchen counter.
And if a view of a slowly spinning Earth will help you sleep, a built-in alarm brings this app full circle.
Contact Kelly at 321-242-3715, aekelly@floridatoday.com and on Twitter @EmreKelly
About Emre Kelly
I began fidgeting with, building, breaking and fixing technology when I was a child. Now 27, I often find myself answering tech-related questions in my professional and personal life. From building computers to travel photography to delving into space coverage as a digital producer for FLORIDA TODAY, I clearly love this stuff.