Mast Nasa

What Mast Nasa does

The Mast Nasa MCP server exposes selected MAST archive operations as MCP tools for AI clients and other MCP-capable applications. MAST is the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes operated by STScI, with data covering missions and surveys including Hubble, JWST, Pan-STARRS, GALEX, K2/Kepler, and TESS.

Its tools support four main query patterns:

• cone_search finds observations near right ascension and declination coordinates, with an optional radius, mission, and result limit.
• mission_search searches one mission using a criteria object and an optional limit.
• caom submits a generic query using the Common Archive Observation Model.
• lookup_name resolves a target name to coordinates and related observations.

Reach for the Mast Nasa MCP server when an agent needs archive records around a sky position, mission-specific observations, or a target lookup rather than general astronomy information.

How it works

The package uses the MAST endpoint at https://mast.stsci.edu/api/v0/, described by the project as a legacy POST-based JSON API. MCP clients communicate with the package through either a local stdio process or a hosted Pipeworx endpoint. The local process handles MCP initialize, tools/list, and tools/call requests for the four archive tools.

The hosted endpoint is available at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mast-nasa/mcp. A pack-specific gateway connection also exposes shared Pipeworx meta-tools, so its tool list is larger than the archive-specific list. These shared tools include routing and discovery functions such as ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, and search_within. The full Pipeworx gateway is another connection option, while direct HTTP calls can invoke tools without an MCP client.

Setup and configuration

For a local installation, add an MCP server entry that runs:

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

The package can also be started directly with npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-mast-nasa. This mode does not require a Pipeworx account and does not add the gateway's shared meta-tools.

For hosted use, configure the client with:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mast-nasa": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mast-nasa/mcp"
    }
  }
}

The gateway also provides HTTP tool invocation. For example, a POST request to /v1/tools/mast_nasa_cone_search can submit coordinates, a search radius, an optional mission, and a result limit.

Tools and capabilities

The Mast Nasa MCP server supports positional searches using right ascension, declination, and an arcminute radius. Mission searches accept a mission identifier and criteria object, allowing clients to pass archive-specific filters. CAOM queries provide a generic archive query path, while name lookup combines target resolution with observation results.

Gateway users can ask ask_pipeworx questions in plain language instead of selecting a tool and filling every argument themselves. This routing capability belongs to the gateway connection; the standalone package exposes only the Mast-specific tools.

Limitations and notes

The local package is limited to the four tools listed above and does not include Pipeworx routing or discovery features. The hosted pack endpoint includes shared gateway tools in addition to the Mast tools, so its exact tool count and scope should be checked from the connection's initialize response. The project describes the underlying MAST interface as legacy and POST-based.