NASA MCP Server

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/handlers/jpl/sbdb.ts:26-93 (handler)

  Core handler function that validates parameters, constructs the JPL SBDB API request, transforms parameter names, fetches data using axios, and returns MCP-formatted content or error.

  export async function jplSbdbHandler(params: SbdbParams) {
    try {
      const { 
        sstr, 
        full_precision, 
        solution_epoch, 
        orbit_class, 
        body_type, 
        phys_par, 
        close_approach, 
        ca_time, 
        ca_dist, 
        ca_tbl, 
        format 
      } = params;
      
      // Construct the SBDB query URL
      const url = 'https://ssd-api.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.api';
      
      // Prepare the query parameters
      const queryParams: Record<string, any> = {
        sstr
      };
      
      // Add optional parameters
      if (full_precision) queryParams.full_precision = full_precision ? 'yes' : 'no';
      if (solution_epoch) queryParams.solution_epoch = solution_epoch;
      if (orbit_class) queryParams.orbit_class = orbit_class ? 'yes' : 'no';
      if (body_type !== 'all') queryParams.body_type = body_type;
      if (phys_par) queryParams.phys_par = phys_par ? 'yes' : 'no';
      if (close_approach) queryParams.close_approach = close_approach ? 'yes' : 'no';
      if (ca_time !== 'all') queryParams.ca_time = ca_time;
      if (ca_dist !== 'au') queryParams.ca_dist = ca_dist;
      if (ca_tbl !== 'approach') queryParams.ca_tbl = ca_tbl;
      if (format !== 'json') queryParams.format = format;
      
      // Transform parameter names from underscore to hyphenated format
      const transformedParams = transformParamsToHyphenated(queryParams);
      
      // Make the request to SBDB API
      const response = await axios.get(url, { params: transformedParams });
      
      // Return the response
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: `Retrieved data for small body "${params.sstr}".`
          },
          {
            type: "text",
            text: JSON.stringify(response.data, null, 2)
          }
        ],
        isError: false
      };
    } catch (error: any) {
      console.error('Error in JPL SBDB handler:', error);
      
      return {
        isError: true,
        content: [{
          type: "text",
          text: `Error: ${error.message || 'An unexpected error occurred'}`
        }]
      };
    }
  } 

• src/handlers/jpl/sbdb.ts:6-18 (schema)

  Zod schema defining and validating input parameters for the jpl_sbdb tool, including required search string and various optional filters.

  export const sbdbParamsSchema = z.object({
    sstr: z.string().min(1),
    full_precision: z.boolean().optional().default(false),
    solution_epoch: z.string().optional(),
    orbit_class: z.boolean().optional().default(false),
    body_type: z.enum(['ast', 'com', 'all']).optional().default('all'),
    phys_par: z.boolean().optional().default(false),
    close_approach: z.boolean().optional().default(false),
    ca_time: z.enum(['all', 'now', 'fut', 'past']).optional().default('all'),
    ca_dist: z.enum(['au', 'ld', 'lu']).optional().default('au'),
    ca_tbl: z.enum(['elem', 'approach']).optional().default('approach'),
    format: z.enum(['json', 'xml']).optional().default('json')
  });

• src/utils/param-transformer.ts:9-19 (helper)

  Helper utility to transform API parameter keys from underscore_case (e.g., full_precision) to hyphen-case (full-precision) as required by JPL APIs.

  export function transformParamsToHyphenated(params: Record<string, any>): Record<string, any> {
    const transformed: Record<string, any> = {};
    
    for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(params)) {
      // Replace underscores with hyphens for parameter names
      const transformedKey = key.replace(/_/g, '-');
      transformed[transformedKey] = value;
    }
    
    return transformed;
  } 

• src/index.ts:1896-1932 (registration)

  Dynamic registration and execution logic for JPL tools (including jpl/sbdb): dynamically imports the handler module from ./handlers/jpl/sbdb.js and invokes the exported handler function with arguments.

  } else if (internalToolId.startsWith("jpl/")) {
    // Extract the JPL API endpoint name
    const endpoint = internalToolId.split("/")[1];
    serverInstance?.sendLoggingMessage({
      level: "info",
      data: `JPL Endpoint: ${endpoint}`,
    });
    
    try {
      // Dynamic import for JPL handlers using the original slash format path
      serverInstance?.sendLoggingMessage({
        level: "info",
        data: `Importing handler module: ./handlers/jpl/${endpoint}.js`,
      });
      const handlerModule = await import(`./handlers/jpl/${endpoint}.js`);
      
      // Try to find the handler function in various export formats
      const handlerFunction = handlerModule.default || 
                             handlerModule[`jpl${endpoint.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + endpoint.slice(1)}Handler`] ||
                             handlerModule[`${endpoint}Handler`];
      
      if (typeof handlerFunction === 'function') {
        return await handlerFunction(args);
      } else {
        throw new Error(`Handler for ${endpoint} not found in module`);
      }
    } catch (error: unknown) {
      const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
      return {
        content: [{
          type: "text",
          text: `Error executing JPL tool '${toolName}': ${errorMessage}`
        }],
        isError: true
      };
    }
  }

• src/index.ts:1032-1048 (registration)

  Tool registration in MCP tools/list handler: defines the 'jpl_sbdb' tool name, description, and JSON input schema.

    name: "jpl_sbdb",
    description: "Small-Body Database (SBDB) - asteroid and comet data",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        sstr: {
          type: "string",
          description: "Search string (e.g., asteroid name, number, or designation)"
        },
        cad: {
          type: "boolean",
          description: "Include close approach data"
        }
      },
      required: ["sstr"]
    }
  },