NASA MCP Server

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for NASA's public APIs, providing access to space data, imagery, and scientific information.

Features

This MCP server provides access to 22+ NASA API endpoints including:

• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) - Daily space imagery with scientific explanations
• Near-Earth Objects (NEO) - Asteroid tracking and approach data
• Mars Rover Photos - Images from Curiosity, Opportunity, Spirit, and Perseverance
• EPIC - Full Earth images from space
• EONET - Natural event tracking (wildfires, storms, volcanoes)
• Space Weather (DONKI) - Solar flares, CMEs, and particle events
• Exoplanet Archive - Data on planets outside our solar system
• NASA Image Library - Searchable media assets
• TechPort - NASA technology projects
• GeneLab - Space biology and omics data
• Satellite TLE - Two-line element data for tracking
• Patents - NASA technology transfer patents

Installation

Using NPM

npm install -g mcp-nasa

Using Docker

docker pull ghcr.io/jezweb/mcp-nasa:latest

From Source

git clone https://github.com/jezweb/mcp-nasa.git
cd mcp-nasa
npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Create a .env file based on .env.example:

NASA_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
NASA_API_BASE_URL=https://api.nasa.gov
MCP_SERVER_PORT=3000
LOG_LEVEL=info
RATE_LIMIT_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR=1000

Get your NASA API key at: https://api.nasa.gov

Usage

Running the Server

Standard Mode

mcp-nasa

With Docker

docker run -it --env-file .env ghcr.io/jezweb/mcp-nasa:latest

Development Mode

npm run dev

Available Tools

| Tool Name | Description | Required Parameters | |-----------|-------------|-------------------| | nasa_apod | Get Astronomy Picture of the Day | None | | nasa_apod_range | Get APOD images for date range | start_date, end_date | | nasa_neo_feed | Get Near-Earth Objects by date | start_date | | nasa_neo_lookup | Get specific asteroid details | asteroid_id | | nasa_neo_browse | Browse NEO dataset | None | | nasa_mars_rover_photos | Get Mars rover photos | rover | | nasa_mars_rover_manifests | Get rover mission manifest | rover | | nasa_epic_images | Get EPIC Earth images | None | | nasa_epic_dates | Get available EPIC dates | None | | nasa_eonet_events | Get natural events | None | | nasa_eonet_categories | Get event categories | None | | nasa_donki_cme | Get Coronal Mass Ejections | None | | nasa_donki_flr | Get Solar Flares | None | | nasa_donki_sep | Get Solar Particle Events | None | | nasa_exoplanet_query | Query exoplanet database | query | | nasa_techport_search | Search technology projects | searchTerm | | nasa_techport_project | Get project details | projectId | | nasa_imagery_search | Search NASA images/videos | None | | nasa_imagery_asset | Get media asset details | nasa_id | | nasa_patents_search | Search NASA patents | query | | nasa_genelab_search | Search GeneLab data | term | | nasa_satellite_tle | Get satellite TLE data | None |

Example Usage

Get Today's APOD

{
  "tool": "nasa_apod",
  "arguments": {}
}

Search for Mars Rover Photos

{
  "tool": "nasa_mars_rover_photos",
  "arguments": {
    "rover": "perseverance",
    "sol": 100,
    "camera": "NAVCAM"
  }
}

Track Near-Earth Asteroids

{
  "tool": "nasa_neo_feed",
  "arguments": {
    "start_date": "2024-01-01",
    "end_date": "2024-01-07"
  }
}

Search NASA Image Library

{
  "tool": "nasa_imagery_search",
  "arguments": {
    "q": "apollo 11",
    "media_type": "image",
    "year_start": "1969"
  }
}

API Rate Limits

• DEMO_KEY: 30 requests/hour, 50 requests/day
• Registered Key: 1000 requests/hour

The server includes built-in rate limiting to prevent exceeding NASA's limits.

Development

Project Structure

nasa-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts          # MCP server entry point
│   ├── nasa-client.ts    # NASA API client
│   └── tools/
│       └── index.ts      # Tool definitions
├── tests/                # Test files
├── docs/                 # Documentation
├── Dockerfile           # Docker configuration
├── docker-compose.yml   # Docker Compose setup
└── package.json         # Dependencies

Running Tests

npm test                 # Run all tests
npm test -- --coverage   # Run with coverage
npm run test:watch       # Watch mode

Linting & Type Checking

npm run lint            # Run ESLint
npm run typecheck       # TypeScript type checking

Building

npm run build           # Build for production

Docker Deployment

Build Image

docker build -t nasa-mcp-server .

Run Container

docker run -it --env-file .env nasa-mcp-server

Using Docker Compose

docker-compose up

CI/CD

The project includes GitHub Actions workflows for:

• Automated testing on PRs
• Docker image building and pushing
• Deployment to Google Cloud Run
• NPM package publishing on releases

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

• NASA for providing public API access
• MCP SDK developers
• Open-source community

Support

• Issues: https://github.com/yourusername/nasa-mcp-server/issues
• NASA API Support: https://api.nasa.gov/support

Resources

• NASA API Documentation
• MCP Documentation
• NASA Open Data