Even NASA's Curiosity rover is taking selfies on Mars. So it's safe to say that the self-taken picture has well and truly escaped gravity. Back here on Earth, selfies and all its facial contortions are now part of our DNA. The buffet of selfie apps keeps you hooked as each brings a new way of taking that same old selfie.

There are a few quirky selfie apps on the web and the app stores for Android and iOS. Let's look at five unique ones.

1. NASA Selfies (Android, iOS): A Selfie App From NASA

Save yourself the selfie envy by suiting yourself up in a spacesuit and taking a snap in space. Well, not quite. It takes a lot of sacrifices to become an astronaut. So the Spitzer Space Telescope mission wants to save you that trouble.

The NASA Selfies app puts you in a virtual space suit and gives you some of the most stunning space images for the background. You just have to snap your portrait and pick an image. That's fun but the images alone make this an educational app for space buffs.

The app was designed by the IPAC Communications & Education group and released on the 15th anniversary of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope mission. The background images come from the showcase of infrared images collected during the mission.

Download: NASA Selfies for Android | iOS (Free)

2. Art Selfie (Android, iOS): A Selfie for Art Education

If the above selfie app is about understanding the mysteries of space, this Google app is for appreciating the art we have on Earth. The Art Selfie is a part of the Google Arts & Culture app. Install the app and scroll down the home screen to find Art Selfie. Start by taking your selfie.

Google Art Selfie will try to match your photo to thousands of portrait artworks online. You just might end up discovering your doppelganger who's portrait is now worth millions of dollars. If not, you might just come to know more about a master painter and his priceless work hanging in a gallery somewhere.

Google Art Selfie uses computer vision technology and machine learning to compare your face to the artworks provided by museums who have partnered with Google.

Download: Google Arts & Culture for Android | iOS (Free)

3. Morphin (Android, iOS): Put Yourself Inside a GIF

Use your selfie in this app and you might feel yourself experiencing a strange new dimension. Think the movie Avatar and you will get the gist of this app's inspiration. You can take a few selfies and transpose them in the reaction GIFs with the help of the app. The GIFs stay the same, the faces get swapped.

Morphin says that it isn't like any other avatar creator. It actually uses CGI to optimize your likeness and recreate the animated GIF. It also works as a cool prank tool. The app suggests you can capture your friends' faces and surprise them later with the right GIF at the right moment.

Right now, I am thinking of using it surprise my WhatsApp circle of friends.

Download: Morphin for Android | iOS (Free)

4. Smiley (iOS): Take Hands-Free Smiling Selfies

Smiley is one of those hands-free camera apps that can be useful to have around for selfies or group portraits. Its role is simple: the app ensures that everyone displays their pearly whites when the photo is clicked. It uses a smile detection algorithm to take photos where everyone is smiling.

Advanced cameras (for example, Sony) have an in-built smile detection mode. This camera app uses a similar method for face and smile detection. Everyone can smile at the same time and in a variety of quirky ways. Smiley will take the photo automatically---without the need to set any timers.

As these are early days for the app, I am not sure if it supports duck faces, fish gapes, or even smizing. Try it out. It could help you take better pictures of yourself on your own.

Download: Smiley for iOS (Free)

5. Unifie (Android, iOS): Take a Selfie With Anyone Across the Globe

What's silliness if you cannot share it with someone. Unifie is a unique selfie camera app that takes the idea even further. You can take a selfie with anyone anywhere in the world in real time. It's just the right kind of app for people in long distance relationships or members of a family separated by distance.

It's also a video call app, and you can click a "unified" selfie during the video call with the app. Or you can also take individual selfies on the app and merge the photos without a call.

It's a good way to memorialize events in your life. Distance isn't an obstacle.

Download: Unifie for Android | iOS (Free)

An Alternative to Beauty Filters

These five apps just might nudge you to move away from the overkill of selfie apps with beauty filters. That can get boring really fast. So loosen that smile and have fun with a few candid shots that stand the test of time.

There are more fun selfie apps around but don't forget the basic rules for taking great selfies.

Image Credit: Design vector created by freepik/Freepik.com