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 adithyasn7@gmail.com

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