nasa_images
Search NASA's media archive for images, videos, and audio using queries, media types, and date ranges to access space exploration content.
Instructions
NASA Image and Video Library - search NASA's media archive
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| q | Yes | Search query | |
| media_type | No | Media type (image, video, audio) | |
| year_start | No | Start year for results | |
| year_end | No | End year for results | |
| page | No | Page number for pagination |
Implementation Reference
- src/handlers/nasa/images.ts:21-65 (handler)Main execution logic for the nasa_images tool: constructs NASA Images API request, fetches data, processes results via helper, handles errors.
export async function nasaImagesHandler(params: ImagesParams) { try { const { q, media_type, year_start, year_end, page, page_size } = params; // Construct request to NASA Image API const url = 'https://images-api.nasa.gov/search'; // Prepare query parameters const queryParams: Record<string, any> = { q, page, page_size }; if (media_type) queryParams.media_type = media_type; if (year_start) queryParams.year_start = year_start; if (year_end) queryParams.year_end = year_end; // Make the request to NASA Images API const response = await axios.get(url, { params: queryParams, timeout: 30000 }); // Process the results and register resources return await processImageResultsWithBase64(response.data); } catch (error: any) { console.error('Error in NASA Images handler:', error); if (error.name === 'ZodError') { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `Invalid request parameters: ${error.message}` }], isError: true }; } return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `Error fetching NASA images: ${error.message || 'Unknown error'}` }], isError: true }; } } - src/handlers/nasa/images.ts:68-153 (helper)Supporting function to process API response: extracts image metadata, fetches full-res images as base64, registers MCP resources, formats content with markdown and embedded images.
async function processImageResultsWithBase64(data: any) { const items = data?.collection?.items || []; if (items.length === 0) { return { content: [{ type: "text", text: "No images found matching the search criteria." }], isError: false }; } const images: any[] = []; for (const item of items) { const metadata = item.data && item.data[0]; if (!metadata || !metadata.nasa_id || metadata.media_type !== 'image') continue; const nasaId = metadata.nasa_id; const title = metadata.title || 'Untitled NASA Image'; const resourceUri = `nasa://images/item?nasa_id=${nasaId}`; // Find the full-res image link (look for rel: 'orig' or the largest image) let fullResUrl = null; if (item.links && Array.isArray(item.links)) { // Try to find rel: 'orig' or the largest image const orig = item.links.find((link: any) => link.rel === 'orig'); if (orig && orig.href) fullResUrl = orig.href; else { // Fallback: use the first image link const firstImg = item.links.find((link: any) => link.render === 'image'); if (firstImg && firstImg.href) fullResUrl = firstImg.href; } } let mimeType = 'image/jpeg'; if (fullResUrl) { if (fullResUrl.endsWith('.png')) mimeType = 'image/png'; else if (fullResUrl.endsWith('.gif')) mimeType = 'image/gif'; else if (fullResUrl.endsWith('.jpg') || fullResUrl.endsWith('.jpeg')) mimeType = 'image/jpeg'; } // Fetch the image and encode as base64 let base64 = null; if (fullResUrl) { try { const imageResponse = await axios.get(fullResUrl, { responseType: 'arraybuffer', timeout: 30000 }); base64 = Buffer.from(imageResponse.data).toString('base64'); } catch (err) { console.error('Failed to fetch NASA Images image for base64:', fullResUrl, err); } } addResource(resourceUri, { name: title, mimeType: "application/json", text: JSON.stringify({ item_details: metadata, full_res_url: fullResUrl, title: title, description: metadata.description || 'No description available', date_created: metadata.date_created || 'Unknown date', nasa_id: nasaId }) }); images.push({ title, base64, mimeType, url: fullResUrl }); } return { content: [ { type: "text", text: `Found ${images.length} NASA images/media items.` }, ...images.map(img => ({ type: "text", text: `` })), ...images.map(img => ({ type: "image", data: img.base64, mimeType: img.mimeType })) ], isError: false }; } - src/handlers/nasa/images.ts:6-13 (schema)Zod schema defining input parameters for the nasa_images tool (search query, media type, date range, pagination).
export const imagesParamsSchema = z.object({ q: z.string().min(1), media_type: z.enum(['image', 'audio', 'video']).optional(), year_start: z.string().optional(), year_end: z.string().optional(), page: z.number().int().positive().optional().default(1), page_size: z.number().int().min(1).max(100).optional().default(10) }); - src/index.ts:1592-1606 (registration)Registers direct MCP request handler for method 'nasa/images', validates params with inline Zod schema, delegates to central handleToolCall.
server.setRequestHandler( z.object({ method: z.literal("nasa/images"), params: z.object({ q: z.string(), page: z.number().optional(), media_type: z.string().optional(), year_start: z.string().optional(), year_end: z.string().optional() }).optional() }), async (request) => { return await handleToolCall("nasa/images", request.params || {}); } ); - src/index.ts:852-881 (registration)Registers nasa_images tool in tools/list endpoint response, providing JSON schema for inputs.
{ name: "nasa_images", description: "NASA Image and Video Library - search NASA's media archive", inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: { q: { type: "string", description: "Search query" }, media_type: { type: "string", description: "Media type (image, video, audio)" }, year_start: { type: "string", description: "Start year for results" }, year_end: { type: "string", description: "End year for results" }, page: { type: "number", description: "Page number for pagination" } }, required: ["q"] } },