# Nasa [Health: Active]

**Category:** 🚀 Aerospace & Astrodynamics  
**Repository:** https://github.com/pipeworx-io/mcp-nasa  
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**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/nasa

## Description
NASA MCP — wraps NASA Open APIs (api.nasa.gov)

## Tools
Capabilities this server exposes over MCP:

- **get_apod** — Get the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day with explanation. Optionally specify a date. Example: get_apod({ date: "2024-01-15", _apiKey: "DEMO_KEY" })
- **get_asteroids** — Get near-Earth asteroids approaching within a date range (max 7 days). Returns size, velocity, and miss distance. Example: get_asteroids({ start_date: "2024-01-01", end_date: "2024-01-07", _apiKey: "DEMO_KEY" })
- **get_mars_photos** — "Show me photos from the Mars rover" / "Perseverance images from sol 1000" / "latest pictures from Mars" — raw images from NASA's Perseverance rover (Mars 2020), straight off the mars.nasa.gov feed. Filter by Martian sol and by camera. Returns image URLs at four resolutions, the sol, the UTC and Ma…
- **search_nasa_images** — Search the NASA Image and Video Library for images/videos of any subject — planets, missions, astronauts, launches, galaxies, etc. PREFER for "NASA photos of Jupiter", "images of the Apollo 11 mission", "pictures of a nebula". Returns title, description, date, NASA ID, media type, and a thumbnail U…
- **get_solar_flares** — Get recent solar flare events from NASA DONKI space-weather data. Returns each flare's class (e.g. C4.0, M1.8, X1.2), begin/peak/end times, source region, and active region number. Use for "recent solar flares", "is there solar activity / a solar storm", space-weather questions.
- **donki_cme** — "Was there a coronal mass ejection this week?" / "is a CME heading for Earth?" — coronal mass ejections catalogued by NASA DONKI, the space-weather event database run by NASA's Community Coordinated Modeling Center. AUTHORITATIVE for CME occurrence and geometry: returns each eruption's start time,…
- **donki_geomagnetic_storms** — "Was there a geomagnetic storm?" / "will there be an aurora tonight?" / "how strong was the Kp index?" — geomagnetic storm events from NASA DONKI, each with the full series of observed Kp index readings and their timestamps. AUTHORITATIVE for whether Earth's magnetic field was actually disturbed, a…
- **donki_solar_energetic_particles** — Solar energetic particle (SEP) events from NASA DONKI — bursts of high-energy protons arriving at Earth after a flare or CME. These are the events behind radiation warnings for polar airline routes, astronaut EVA holds and satellite single-event upsets. Returns the event time, the detecting instrum…
- **donki_notifications** — "What is the current space weather forecast?" — the alerts, watches, warnings and weekly summary reports NASA DONKI issues to spacecraft operators. This is the narrative layer over the event catalogues: a human forecaster's text saying what happened, what is expected and what the impact is. Filter…

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `npx` (confidence: high):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "nasa": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","@pipeworx/mcp-nasa"]
  }
}
```

## Documentation

## What the Nasa MCP server does

The Nasa MCP server gives an MCP-compatible agent direct tools for selected NASA data services. It covers public-facing astronomy content, planetary imagery, near-Earth object observations, and space-weather records from NASA DONKI. The package is useful when an agent must retrieve structured NASA results instead of relying on generated answers or manually assembled API requests.

Its media tools serve different purposes. `get_apod` retrieves NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day and its explanation, with an optional date. `search_nasa_images` searches the NASA Image and Video Library for subjects such as missions, planets, astronauts, launches, and galaxies. `get_mars_photos` returns Perseverance rover images and metadata, with filters for Martian sol and camera.

## Tools and capabilities

The Nasa MCP server includes these tool groups:

- `get_asteroids` finds near-Earth asteroids within a date range of up to seven days and returns size, velocity, and miss-distance data.
- `get_solar_flares` reports recent flare classes, timing, source regions, and active-region numbers.
- `donki_cme` returns catalogued coronal mass ejections, including observations and, where available, modelled speed, direction, width, and analysis status.
- `donki_geomagnetic_storms` provides event records with Kp readings, timestamps, and linked CMEs or shocks.
- `donki_solar_energetic_particles` reports SEP events, detecting instruments, energy channels, and linked flare or CME sources.
- `donki_notifications` retrieves DONKI alerts, watches, warnings, and summary messages, with filters for message and event type.

The Mars tool is limited to Perseverance imagery. The documentation states that Curiosity, Opportunity, and Spirit do not have live public image feeds in this package.

## How it works

For hosted use, configure an MCP client with `https://gateway.pipeworx.io/nasa/mcp`. The endpoint lists the NASA pack tools and also exposes shared Pipeworx gateway tools. The gateway’s `ask_pipeworx` tool can route a natural-language question across the wider catalog, while the pack-specific tools remain available for direct calls.

For local use, run `npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-nasa`. The package communicates over standard input and output and responds to MCP initialization, tool-listing, and tool-call requests. The standalone process exposes only the NASA pack tools, without the gateway’s shared meta-tools or cross-catalog routing.

## Setup and configuration

Add the hosted URL to an MCP client, or configure the local command and package as its server entry. The README provides examples for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf. A Pipeworx account is not required for the standalone package, and the hosted HTTP examples state that no account is needed for initial calls.

`get_apod` and `get_asteroids` examples pass `_apiKey` as a tool argument, using `DEMO_KEY`. The documentation identifies `get_mars_photos` and `search_nasa_images` as keyless. No required environment variables are documented.

## Limitations and notes

Asteroid queries support a maximum seven-day date range. Mars results come from Perseverance only and include image URLs at four resolutions, sol information, capture times, and camera data. The hosted endpoint’s tool list can contain more tools than the NASA-specific table because of shared gateway functionality; the connection’s initialization response is the authoritative list for that deployment.

_Full upstream README: https://allmcps.com/mcp/nasa/readme_