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NASA Selfies app beams your face into space

Send your selfies out of this world.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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CNET test cat Delia poses with the Crab Nebula.

NASA Selfies

If you've ever wanted to go to space, but don't think you can meet  NASA 's strict astronaut requirements, then there's an app for that.

NASA Selfies app puts you -- or your pets or friends -- into a spacesuit and lets you pose with any number of gorgeous galactic views. The app is part of the space agency's celebrations for the Spitzer telescope's 15 years in space.

NASA Selfies is pretty simple. You snap a selfie and then choose which Spitzer image you want for a background. Options range from the Andromeda Galaxy to the Spider Nebula to Zeta Ophiuchi, a giant star located in the constellation Ophiuchus (the serpent-bearer). 

The app then puts your face into an astronaut helmet while giving you a dash of information about the background image. I used one of my cats as a model and she looks absolutely thrilled to be out exploring the far reaches of the exotic Crab Nebula.

The app is available for both iOS and Android. The only problem with NASA Selfies is that it will make your normal Earth-bound selfies look dull in comparison.

NASA also unveiled an Exoplanet Excursions virtual reality app for Vive and Oculus on Wednesday. The app takes viewers through the Trappist-1 system with artists' impressions of what the distant planets might look like.

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