nasa-power-mcp-server

Get NASA POWER climatology

nasa_power_get_climatology

Read-only

Retrieve complete monthly and annual climatology at latitude/longitude. Optionally supply both startYear and endYear; omitted years use the source product range. Use nasa_power_list_reference for presets and tilted solar aliases. Small profiles remain inline; larger profiles return a complete table handle and bounded preview, preserving orientation text. Oversized summaries stage as summaryDataset with exact summaryCount, queried in summaryIndex order. Supply canvas_id to reuse a returned workspace.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`units`	No	Requested units mode; response units remain authoritative	metric
`endYear`	No	Calendar year
`latitude`	Yes	Latitude in degrees north
`canvas_id`	No	Reuse a returned canvas token for an oversized profile
`community`	No	NASA community controlling parameter units	RE
`longitude`	Yes	Longitude in degrees east
`selection`	No	Parameter selection
`startYear`	No	Calendar year
`windSurface`	No	Wind surface paired with windElevation; airport_ice and airport ice alias airportice
`timeStandard`	No	Local solar time or UTC	LST
`siteElevation`	No	Site elevation in meters; supplying it adds PSC to the effective parameter selection
`windElevation`	No	Wind correction height in meters; requires windSurface and adds WSC to the effective parameter selection

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`rows`	No	Complete inline observations or bounded preview with a full-data handle and exact rowCount
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`dataset`	No	Full-table handle when observations exceed inline budget; null otherwise
`request`	No	Normalized climatology request and corrections
`metadata`	No	Original source provenance and access information
`rowCount`	No	Exact full normalized observation count
`summaries`	No	Numeric observation summaries with explicit missingness
`expansions`	No	Requested alias to actual returned member codes
`parameters`	No	Returned parameter columns, including dynamic alias members
`summaryCount`	No	Exact complete summary count when summaries are staged; summaries then holds one
`summaryDataset`	No	Complete summaries ordered by summaryIndex; SQL NULL units restore an omitted source unit
`omittedParameters`	No	Requested parameters omitted by the source, distinct from fill values

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed3 schema fields changedOct 29, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `canvas_required`: Oversized observations require an enabled workspace. `canvas_not_found`: The supplied workspace token is absent or expired. `unsupported_parameter`: Selected parameter is unavailable for this community and resolution. `unsupported_preset`: Preset is unavailable at this resolution. `invalid_window`: Window is reversed, impossible or outside source coverage. `invalid_correction`: Wind settings are unpaired or correction inputs are missing. `upstream_rejected`: NASA rejects the scientific request. `upstream_rate_limited`: NASA responds with a rate limit. `request_queue_full`: Source scheduling capacity is exhausted. `dataset_limit`: Complete data exceeds a bounded workload limit. `producer_capacity_exhausted`: Other data calls hold the in-flight capacity this call needs past its admission wait. `canvas_capacity_exhausted`: Canvas count, table or retained staging capacity is exhausted. `canvas_busy`: Another query, staging or removal occupies the supplied canvas. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `canvas_required`: Oversized observations or summaries require an enabled workspace. `canvas_not_found`: The supplied workspace token is absent or expired. `unsupported_parameter`: Selected parameter is unavailable for this community and resolution. `unsupported_preset`: Preset is unavailable at this resolution. `invalid_window`: Window is reversed, impossible or outside source coverage. `invalid_correction`: Wind settings are unpaired or correction inputs are missing. `upstream_rejected`: NASA rejects the scientific request. `upstream_rate_limited`: NASA responds with a rate limit. `request_queue_full`: Source scheduling capacity is exhausted. `dataset_limit`: Complete data exceeds a bounded workload limit. `producer_capacity_exhausted`: Other data calls hold the in-flight capacity this call needs past its admission wait. `canvas_capacity_exhausted`: Canvas count, table or retained staging capacity is exhausted. `canvas_busy`: Another query, staging or removal occupies the supplied canvas. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

addedOutput schema / properties / summaryCount

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Exact complete summary count when summaries are staged; summaries then holds one",
+  "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+  "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / summaryDataset

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "description": "Complete summaries ordered by summaryIndex; SQL NULL units restore an omitted source unit",
+  "properties": {
+    "canvas_id": {
+      "description": "Explicit process-local canvas access token",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "columns": {
+      "description": "Explicit schema of every staged column",
+      "items": {
+        "additionalProperties": false,
+        "description": "One explicitly typed staged column",
+        "properties": {
+          "name": {
+            "description": "Exact registered column name",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "nullable": {
+            "description": "Whether this column permits null values",
+            "type": "boolean"
+          },
+          "type": {
+            "description": "Explicit DuckDB column type",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "units": {
+            "description": "Exact source units for scientific columns",
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "valueKind": {
+            "description": "Scientific value kind when applicable",
+            "enum": [
+              "number",
+              "categorical",
+              "orientation"
+            ],
+            "type": "string"
+          }
+        },
+        "required": [
+          "name",
+          "type",
+          "nullable"
+        ],
+        "type": "object"
+      },
+      "type": "array"
+    },
+    "describeTool": {
+      "const": "nasa_power_dataframe_describe",
+      "description": "Tool for inspecting this dataset",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "expiresAt": {
+      "description": "Table expiry timestamp",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "queryTool": {
+      "const": "nasa_power_dataframe_query",
+      "description": "Tool for querying this dataset",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "rowCount": {
+      "description": "Exact full staged row count",
+      "type": "number"
+    },
+    "table": {
+      "description": "Registered full-data table name",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "canvas_id",
+    "table",
+    "rowCount",
+    "expiresAt",
+    "columns",
+    "describeTool",
+    "queryTool"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

Changed2 schema fields changedOct 29, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `canvas_required`: Oversized observations require an enabled workspace. `canvas_not_found`: The supplied workspace token is absent or expired. `unsupported_parameter`: Selected parameter is unavailable for this community and resolution. `unsupported_preset`: Preset is unavailable at this resolution. `invalid_window`: Window is reversed, impossible or outside source coverage. `invalid_correction`: Wind settings are unpaired or correction inputs are missing. `upstream_rejected`: NASA rejects the scientific request. `upstream_rate_limited`: NASA responds with a rate limit. `request_queue_full`: Source scheduling capacity is exhausted. `dataset_limit`: Complete data exceeds a bounded workload limit. `canvas_capacity_exhausted`: Producer or staging admission capacity is exhausted. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `canvas_required`: Oversized observations require an enabled workspace. `canvas_not_found`: The supplied workspace token is absent or expired. `unsupported_parameter`: Selected parameter is unavailable for this community and resolution. `unsupported_preset`: Preset is unavailable at this resolution. `invalid_window`: Window is reversed, impossible or outside source coverage. `invalid_correction`: Wind settings are unpaired or correction inputs are missing. `upstream_rejected`: NASA rejects the scientific request. `upstream_rate_limited`: NASA responds with a rate limit. `request_queue_full`: Source scheduling capacity is exhausted. `dataset_limit`: Complete data exceeds a bounded workload limit. `producer_capacity_exhausted`: Other data calls hold the in-flight capacity this call needs past its admission wait. `canvas_capacity_exhausted`: Canvas count, table or retained staging capacity is exhausted. `canvas_busy`: Another query, staging or removal occupies the supplied canvas. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples

Previous value: -[
-  "canvas_required",
-  "canvas_not_found",
-  "unsupported_parameter",
-  "unsupported_preset",
-  "invalid_window",
-  "invalid_correction",
-  "upstream_rejected",
-  "upstream_rate_limited",
-  "request_queue_full",
-  "dataset_limit",
-  "canvas_capacity_exhausted"
-]New value: +[
+  "canvas_required",
+  "canvas_not_found",
+  "unsupported_parameter",
+  "unsupported_preset",
+  "invalid_window",
+  "invalid_correction",
+  "upstream_rejected",
+  "upstream_rate_limited",
+  "request_queue_full",
+  "dataset_limit",
+  "producer_capacity_exhausted",
+  "canvas_capacity_exhausted",
+  "canvas_busy"
+]

First observedOct 24, 2026

TDQS

A4.2/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations only declare readOnly/openWorld, but the description discloses substantial behavior the schema cannot express: small profiles return inline, larger ones return a table handle plus bounded preview with orientation text, and overflowing summaries stage as summaryDataset with an exact summaryCount queried in summaryIndex order. The canvas_id round-trip for reusing a workspace is a genuine operational detail.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Four dense sentences with no filler, front-loading what is retrieved and the year-range rule before output-shape details. The output-staging sentences are jargon-heavy but each carries necessary information for handling the response.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a 12-parameter tool with an output schema, the description covers the non-obvious gaps: year-pair coupling, preset sourcing, canvas reuse, and how large results are staged and indexed. Minor omission is the relationship between community and valid parameter codes, though the schema documents that inline.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so baseline is 3, but the description adds real semantics: startYear and endYear must be supplied together and omitted values resolve to the source product range, and presets should be resolved via nasa_power_list_reference. It adds little for units/community/timeStandard, which the schema already covers well.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb+resource+scope: 'Retrieve complete monthly and annual climatology at latitude/longitude'. This clearly separates it from nasa_power_get_timeseries by product type (climatology vs. time series), though that differentiation is implied rather than stated.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Gives concrete conditional guidance: years are optional but must be supplied as a pair, omitted years fall back to the product range, and presets/tilted solar aliases should come from nasa_power_list_reference. It does not explicitly say when to prefer nasa_power_get_timeseries instead, so no exclusion rules are stated.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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