WASHINGTON - Reports indicate that a NASA application for the iPhone and iPod touch is now available free of charge at the App Store from Apple.

The NASA application will deliver a wealth of information, videos, images and news updates about NASA missions to people’s fingertips.

“Making NASA more accessible to the public is a high priority for the agency,” said Gale Allen, director of Strategic Integration and Management for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.

“Tools like this allow us to provide users easy access to NASA information and progress at a fast pace,” she added.

The NASA App collects, customizes and delivers an extensive selection of dynamically updated information, images and videos from various online NASA sources.

Users can access NASA countdown clocks, the NASA Image of the Day, Astronomy Image of the Day, online videos, NASA’s many Twitter feeds and other information in a convenient mobile package.

It delivers NASA content in a clear and intuitive way by making full use of the iPhone and iPod touch features, including the Multi-Touch user interface.

The New Media Team at NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, developed the application.

The NASA App also allows users to track the current positions of the International Space Station and other spacecraft currently orbiting Earth in three views: a map with borders and labels, visible satellite imagery, or satellite overlaid with country borders and labels.

“We’re excited to deliver a wide range of up-to-the-minute NASA content to iPhone and iPod touch users,” said Gary Martin, director of the New Ventures and Communications Directorate at Ames.

“The NASA App provides an easy and interesting way for the public to experience space exploration,” he added. (ANI)