Provides tools for searching NASA's Common Metadata Repository (CMR) for Earth-science dataset collections and granules, retrieving full collection metadata, and listing individual data files with direct download URLs.
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@NASA CMR MCP Server find MODIS sea surface temperature datasets from 2023"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
NASA CMR (Common Metadata Repository) MCP.
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1683+ live data sources.
Tool | Description |
| Search NASA's Common Metadata Repository for Earth-science dataset collections by keyword, platform (satellite/mission), instrument, time range, or bounding box. ~10k collections covering MODIS, Landsat, Sentinel, VIIRS, GPM, and every NASA DAAC. Sorted by usage. Keyless. |
| Get full metadata for one NASA Earth-science collection by its CMR concept ID — summary, DOI/landing page, spatial coverage, temporal range, and access links. Keyless. |
| List the individual data files (granules) of a NASA collection — newest first, with timestamps, file size, and direct download URLs. Filter by time range or bounding box. Keyless. |
Related MCP server: Copernicus Earth Observation MCP Server
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"nasa-cmr": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/nasa-cmr/mcp"
}
}
}tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/nasa-cmr/mcp returns the tools in the table
above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx,
discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.
This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.
Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pipeworx": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
}
}
}Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1683+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_collections \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"keyword":"sea surface temperature","platform":"Terra","instrument":"MODIS","limit":10}'No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_collections. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.
This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:
{
"mcpServers": {
"nasa-cmr": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-nasa-cmr"]
}
}
}Or run it directly to confirm it starts:
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-nasa-cmrIt speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call
for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.
Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Nasa Cmr data" })The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
MIT
This server cannot be deployed
Discover, verify, and access NASA Earth science datasets via the Common Metadata Repository (CMR)
Gateway between LLM agents and world data through eight tools and a bundled endpoint catalog.
Live web access for agents: scrape, SERP search, crawl/map, 100+ collectors, datasets, proxies.
European Sentinel and Copernicus Contributing Mission archive from the EU's Copernicus Data Space…
