In theory, our two children are too old for Sago Sago’s preschool apps, but they continue to love them. Now there’s a newie: Sago Mini Space Explorer.

It fits neatly into a series of well-crafted ‘exploring’ apps from the developer, following Sago Mini Forest Flyer and Sago Mini Ocean Swimmer – we can’t recommend either highly enough.

This time round, the hero is Harvey the dog, who’s made appearances in other apps including Sago Mini Pet Cafe and Sago Mini Music Box. As the app’s name makes clear, this is about interstellar exploration.

“Blast into space with Harvey the dog. Invite Harvey out to play among the stars and planets. Jet through space and discover dozens of delightful surprises,” explains its App Store listing. “Make new alien friends, zip around in a flying saucer, meet the lovable hug-bot, and enjoy an interstellar picnic.”

As in the Flyer and Swimmer apps, it’s simple to control: children simply drag their finger around the screen to make Harvey move through space. Whenever they see a yellow marker, that’s the sign for an animation to watch, with more than 30 available in total.

There’s plenty of humour, as ever, but it’s also a notably unstressful experience for kids: no time limits or goals they have to complete. They’ll find their favourite animations and want to watch them again and again.

The app isn’t educational, as such – no explanations about the Solar System, gravity or other space topics. That said, we think it may spark a few conversations with your children along those lines: the app is purely playful, but it could stimulate their wider interest in what’s above the Earth.

Sago Mini Space Explorer costs £1.99 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.

Read about more space apps for kids on Apps Playground, and check out our 100 Best iPad Apps of 2013 e-book – £1.99 from Apple’s iBooks Store