nasa_epic
Retrieve Earth imagery from NASA's EPIC camera to visualize our planet from space. Specify date and collection type to access natural or enhanced color images.
Instructions
Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera - views of Earth
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| collection | No | Image collection (natural or enhanced) | |
| date | No | Date of the image (YYYY-MM-DD) |
Implementation Reference
- src/handlers/nasa/epic.ts:131-202 (handler)nasaEpicHandler: Main handler function that processes parameters, fetches EPIC data from NASA API, processes images with processEpicResults, registers resources, and returns MCP-formatted content with text summaries, markdown images, and embedded images.export async function nasaEpicHandler(params: EpicParams) { try { // Parse the request parameters const { collection, date } = params; // Determine the endpoint based on parameters let endpoint = `/${collection}`; if (date) { endpoint += `/date/${date}`; } // Try to fetch EPIC data with timeout of 30 seconds const response = await axios.get(`${EPIC_API_BASE_URL}${endpoint}`, { timeout: 30000 }); const epicData = response.data; // Process the results if (epicData && epicData.length > 0) { const results = await processEpicResults(epicData, collection); return { content: [ { type: "text", text: results.summary }, // Existing resource URI entries ...results.images.map(img => ({ type: "text", text: `` })), // Direct image URL markdown entries ...results.images.map(img => ({ type: "text", text: `` })), // Embedded binary images ...results.images .filter(img => img.base64) .map(img => ({ type: "image", data: img.base64!, mimeType: img.mimeType! })), ], isError: false }; } // No data found for date return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `No EPIC data found for date ${date || 'latest'} in collection ${collection}` }], isError: false }; } catch (error: any) { console.error('Error in EPIC handler:', error); if (error.name === 'ZodError') { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `Invalid request parameters: ${error.message}` }], isError: true }; } // Return a properly formatted error return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `Error fetching EPIC data: ${error.message}` }], isError: true }; } } // Export the handler function directly as default export default nasaEpicHandler;
- src/handlers/nasa/epic.ts:11-14 (schema)epicParamsSchema: Zod schema defining input parameters for the nasa_epic tool (collection: 'natural'|'enhanced', date: string optional).export const epicParamsSchema = z.object({ collection: z.enum(['natural', 'enhanced']).optional().default('natural'), date: z.string().optional(), });
- src/index.ts:1511-1523 (registration)Direct MCP request handler registration for method 'nasa/epic', which delegates to handleToolCall('nasa/epic') dispatching to the dynamic import of epic handler.// EPIC Handler server.setRequestHandler( z.object({ method: z.literal("nasa/epic"), params: z.object({ collection: z.string().optional(), date: z.string().optional() }).optional() }), async (request) => { return await handleToolCall("nasa/epic", request.params || {}); } );
- src/index.ts:453-456 (registration)Tool manifest listing 'nasa_epic' as available tool with id 'nasa/epic' and description.name: "nasa_epic", id: "nasa/epic", description: "Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera views of Earth" },
- src/handlers/nasa/epic.ts:25-126 (helper)processEpicResults: Helper function that processes raw EPIC API data, fetches and encodes images to base64, registers them as MCP resources, and prepares formatted image data for the response.async function processEpicResults(epicData: any[], collection: string) { if (!Array.isArray(epicData) || epicData.length === 0) { return { summary: "No EPIC data available for the specified parameters.", images: [] }; } // Extract date information from the first image const firstImage = epicData[0]; const date = firstImage.date || 'unknown date'; // Get image date parts for URL construction const dateStr = firstImage.date.split(' ')[0]; const [year, month, day] = dateStr.split('-'); // Collect image data including base64 for direct display const images: Array<{ identifier: string; caption: string; imageUrl: string; resourceUri: string; base64?: string; mimeType?: string; error?: string }> = []; for (const img of epicData) { // Construct the image URL according to NASA's format const imageUrl = `${EPIC_IMAGE_BASE_URL}/${collection}/${year}/${month}/${day}/png/${img.image}.png`; // Create a unique resource URI for this image const resourceUri = `nasa://epic/image/${collection}/${img.identifier}`; try { // Fetch the actual image data const imageResponse = await axios({ url: imageUrl, responseType: 'arraybuffer', timeout: 30000 }); // Convert image data to Base64 for direct response const imageBase64 = Buffer.from(imageResponse.data).toString('base64'); // Register this image as a resource with binary data addResource(resourceUri, { name: `NASA EPIC Earth Image - ${img.identifier}`, mimeType: "image/png", // Store metadata as text text: JSON.stringify({ id: img.identifier, date: img.date, caption: img.caption || "Earth view from DSCOVR satellite", imageUrl: imageUrl, centroid_coordinates: img.centroid_coordinates, dscovr_j2000_position: img.dscovr_j2000_position, lunar_j2000_position: img.lunar_j2000_position, sun_j2000_position: img.sun_j2000_position, attitude_quaternions: img.attitude_quaternions }), // Store actual image data as blob blob: Buffer.from(imageResponse.data) }); // Keep data for direct response images.push({ identifier: img.identifier, caption: img.caption || "Earth view from DSCOVR satellite", imageUrl: imageUrl, resourceUri: resourceUri, base64: imageBase64, mimeType: "image/png" }); } catch (error) { console.error(`Error fetching EPIC image ${img.identifier}:`, error); // If fetch fails, register with just the metadata addResource(resourceUri, { name: `NASA EPIC Earth Image - ${img.identifier}`, mimeType: "image/png", text: JSON.stringify({ id: img.identifier, date: img.date, caption: img.caption || "Earth view from DSCOVR satellite", imageUrl: imageUrl, centroid_coordinates: img.centroid_coordinates, dscovr_j2000_position: img.dscovr_j2000_position, lunar_j2000_position: img.lunar_j2000_position, sun_j2000_position: img.sun_j2000_position, attitude_quaternions: img.attitude_quaternions, fetch_error: (error as Error).message }) }); images.push({ identifier: img.identifier, caption: img.caption || "Earth view from DSCOVR satellite", imageUrl: imageUrl, resourceUri: resourceUri, error: "Failed to fetch image data" }); } } return { summary: `EPIC Earth imagery from ${date} - Collection: ${collection} - ${images.length} images available`, images: images }; }