NASA MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA_API_KEY | No | Optional NASA API key. Without it, uses DEMO_KEY (30 req/hr, 50/day per IP). Get a free key at https://api.nasa.gov/ | DEMO_KEY |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| nasa_daily_briefA | Get a compact NASA daily brief: today's astronomy image, recent space-weather notices, active Earth events, and the latest DSCOVR full-disc Earth image. Returns partial results if an upstream NASA service is down. |
| nasa_apodA | Get NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for a date, or a small random sample. Returns image/video URLs, title, credit, and a bounded explanation. |
| nasa_search_mediaA | Search NASA's public image, video, and audio library. Returns compact metadata plus preview/original links and NASA media IDs. |
| nasa_media_assetA | Resolve a NASA media ID to its downloadable image, video, audio, caption, and metadata files. |
| nasa_earth_eventsA | Find current or recent natural events from NASA EONET, including storms, wildfires, volcanoes, floods, sea/lake ice, dust, drought, and landslides. Returns latest coordinates and source links. |
| nasa_space_weatherA | Get recent NASA DONKI space-weather reports: notifications, solar flares, CMEs, geomagnetic storms, solar energetic particles, interplanetary shocks, magnetopause crossings, radiation-belt enhancements, or high-speed streams. |
| nasa_epic_earthA | Get DSCOVR/EPIC full-disc Earth images with direct PNG/JPG/thumbnail URLs and spacecraft geometry. Keyless NASA endpoint. |
| nasa_power_dailyA | Get historical daily NASA POWER weather, solar-resource, or agricultural data for one latitude/longitude. This is analysis-ready historical data, not a forecast. Returns compact columnar series with units. |
| nasa_power_climatologyA | Get NASA POWER monthly and annual climatology for one latitude/longitude using the standard 2001-2020 baseline. Useful for typical weather, rainfall, wind, solar potential, and growing conditions; not a forecast. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 9 tools
Most tools target a distinct NASA dataset or service. nasa_daily_brief aggregates content from several other tools, which could cause minor overlap, but it serves a distinct purpose as a summary. Search vs. asset and daily vs. climatology are clearly separated.
All tools share the nasa_ prefix and use descriptive snake_case, but the structure varies: some are noun phrases (nasa_earth_events), one is verb+noun (nasa_search_media), and others are acronym-based (nasa_apod). This mixed convention is readable but not a strict pattern.
Nine tools is well within the ideal 3-15 range. Each tool represents a distinct NASA data source or function, making the set neither bloated nor thin.
The server provides solid coverage of popular NASA data: imagery, media, Earth events, space weather, and climate/weather data. It lacks some notable datasets (e.g., Mars Rover photos, exoplanets) but for a general NASA MCP it covers the core areas without dead ends.