nasa-mcp-server

NASA MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to NASA's public APIs, including Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), Mars Rover Images, and Near Earth Objects (NEO) data.

Features

• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): Get daily astronomy images with descriptions
• Mars Rover Images: Access photos from Mars rovers with various camera options
• Near Earth Objects (NEO): Retrieve asteroid data and close approach information
• Earth Images (EPIC): Get satellite images of Earth from NASA's DSCOVR satellite
• GIBS Satellite Imagery: Access high-resolution Earth imagery from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services
• GIBS Layers Information: Get details about available satellite imagery layers
• Image Analysis Tool: Fetch and analyze images from URLs with automatic processing and base64 conversion

Installation

Install the package from PyPI:

pip install nasa-mcp-server

Or using uvx (recommended for MCP usage):

uvx nasa-mcp-server

Setup

Get NASA API Key

• Visit NASA API Portal
• Generate your free API key
• Keep the API key handy for configuration

VS Code Configuration

Add the following to your VS Code mcp.json configuration file:

{
  "servers": {
    "nasa-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["nasa-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NASA_API_KEY": "YOUR_NASA_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_NASA_API_KEY_HERE with your actual NASA API key.

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration:

Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json macOS: ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nasa-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["nasa-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NASA_API_KEY": "YOUR_NASA_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_NASA_API_KEY_HERE with your actual NASA API key.

Available Tools

1. get_apod - Astronomy Picture of the Day

Get stunning astronomy images with detailed descriptions from NASA's APOD service.

Parameters:

• date (YYYY-MM-DD): Specific date for APOD image (default: today)
• start_date (YYYY-MM-DD): Start date for date range (cannot be used with date)
• end_date (YYYY-MM-DD): End date for date range (default: today)
• count (int): Number of random images to retrieve (cannot be used with date parameters)

Example Usage:

• Get today's APOD: get_apod()
• Get APOD for specific date: get_apod(date="2024-01-15")
• Get APOD for date range: get_apod(start_date="2024-01-01", end_date="2024-01-07")
• Get 5 random APODs: get_apod(count=5)

2. get_mars_image - Mars Rover Images

Access photos taken by Mars rovers with various camera perspectives.

Parameters:

• earth_date (YYYY-MM-DD): Earth date when photo was taken (default: today)
• sol (int): Martian sol (day) of the rover's mission (default: 1000)
• camera (string): Camera type to use

Available Cameras:

• FHAZ: Front Hazard Avoidance Camera
• RHAZ: Rear Hazard Avoidance Camera
• MAST: Mast Camera
• CHEMCAM: Chemistry and Camera Complex
• MAHLI: Mars Hand Lens Imager
• MARDI: Mars Descent Imager
• NAVCAM: Navigation Camera
• PANCAM: Panoramic Camera
• MINITES: Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES)

Example Usage:

• Get images from today: get_mars_image()
• Get images from specific Earth date: get_mars_image(earth_date="2024-01-15")
• Get images from specific sol: get_mars_image(sol=500)
• Get images from specific camera: get_mars_image(camera="MAST")

3. get_neo_feed - Near Earth Objects

Retrieve information about asteroids and their close approaches to Earth.

Parameters:

• start_date (YYYY-MM-DD): Start date for asteroid search (default: today)
• end_date (YYYY-MM-DD): End date for asteroid search (default: 7 days after start_date)
• limit_per_day (int): Maximum number of asteroids to show per day (default: 2)

Note: Maximum date range is 7 days as per NASA API limitations.

Example Usage:

• Get next 7 days of NEO data: get_neo_feed()
• Get NEO data for specific date range: get_neo_feed(start_date="2024-01-15", end_date="2024-01-20")
• Limit results per day: get_neo_feed(limit_per_day=5)

4. get_earth_image_tool - Earth Images (EPIC)

Get satellite images of Earth from NASA's DSCOVR satellite using the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC).

Parameters:

• earth_date (YYYY-MM-DD): Date when the photo was taken (default: latest available)
• type (string): Type of image to retrieve
• limit (int): Number of images to retrieve (default: 1, max recommended: 10)

Available Image Types:

• natural: Natural color images (default)
• enhanced: Enhanced color images
• aerosol: Aerosol images
• cloud: Cloud images

Example Usage:

• Get latest Earth images: get_earth_image_tool()
• Get images for specific date: get_earth_image_tool(earth_date="2024-01-15")
• Get enhanced color images: get_earth_image_tool(type="enhanced")
• Get multiple images: get_earth_image_tool(limit=5)

5. get_gibs_image - GIBS Satellite Imagery

Access high-resolution satellite imagery of Earth from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS).

Parameters:

• layer (string): The imagery layer to fetch (default: "MODIS_Terra_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor")
• bbox (string): Bounding box as "min_lon,min_lat,max_lon,max_lat" (default: "-180,-90,180,90")
• date (YYYY-MM-DD): Date for the imagery (default: most recent available)
• width (int): Image width in pixels (default: 512, max recommended: 2048)
• height (int): Image height in pixels (default: 512, max recommended: 2048)
• format (string): Image format - "image/png" or "image/jpeg" (default: "image/png")
• projection (string): Coordinate system - "epsg4326" or "epsg3857" (default: "epsg4326")

Popular Imagery Layers:

• MODIS_Terra_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor: Terra satellite true color (default)
• MODIS_Aqua_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor: Aqua satellite true color
• VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor: VIIRS satellite true color
• MODIS_Terra_CorrectedReflectance_Bands721: Terra false color
• MODIS_Aqua_CorrectedReflectance_Bands721: Aqua false color
• Reference_Labels_15m: Political boundaries and labels
• Reference_Features_15m: Coastlines and water bodies
• MODIS_Terra_Aerosol: Aerosol optical depth
• MODIS_Terra_Land_Surface_Temp_Day: Land surface temperature

Example Bounding Boxes:

• World: "-180,-90,180,90"
• USA: "-125,25,-65,50"
• Europe: "0,40,40,70"

Example Usage:

• Get world imagery: get_gibs_image()
• Get USA true color imagery: get_gibs_image(bbox="-125,25,-65,50")
• Get false color imagery: get_gibs_image(layer="MODIS_Terra_CorrectedReflectance_Bands721")
• Get high-resolution imagery: get_gibs_image(width=1024, height=1024)
• Get imagery for specific date: get_gibs_image(date="2024-01-15")

6. get_gibs_layers - Available GIBS Layers

Get information about all available GIBS layers and their capabilities.

Parameters: None

Example Usage:

• Get all available layers: get_gibs_layers()

7. get_image_analyze - Image Analysis Tool

Fetch an image from a URL and convert it to base64 format for LLM analysis. This tool downloads images from any URL and processes them for analysis.

Parameters:

• image_url (string): The URL of the image to analyze (required)

Example Usage:

• Analyze an image from URL: get_image_analyze(image_url="https://example.com/image.jpg")
• Analyze NASA image: get_image_analyze(image_url="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2401/example.jpg")

Features:

• Automatic image format detection (PNG, JPEG, GIF)
• Image compression and resizing for optimal processing
• Base64 conversion for LLM analysis
• Support for various image formats and URLs
• Automatic RGB conversion for JPEG compatibility

** NOTE ** This tool returns a imagecontent. This is supported in only ** Claud 4 ** as of now. Other LLMs may not respond for image analysis.

Error Handling

The server includes comprehensive error handling for:

• Invalid date formats
• Network timeouts
• Invalid API keys
• NASA API-specific errors

Testing

The project includes a comprehensive test suite to ensure all MCP tools function correctly.

Quick Testing

# Run all tests
python test.py

# Run with verbose output
python test.py -v

# Setup test environment
python tests/setup_tests.py

Test Coverage

The test suite covers:

• All 7 MCP tools with various parameter combinations
• Error handling scenarios
• Integration workflows
• Async functionality

For detailed testing information, see tests/README.md.

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• NASA API key (free from NASA API Portal)
• Internet connection for API access

Links

• PyPI Package: https://pypi.org/project/nasa-mcp-server/
• NASA API Documentation: https://api.nasa.gov/
• MCP Documentation: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/

Support

For issues and support, please visit the package repository or NASA API documentation for API-related questions.

License

This project uses NASA's public APIs. Please refer to NASA's API terms of service for usage guidelines.

Developper

I am Adithya. I developped this package as part of the MIE internship project. Wanted to talk more, shoot me an email at [e-mail]