Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison
Open Notify vs Science
In-depth architectural comparison of the Open Notify and Science MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Open Notify
Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Local stdio
Quality: 37/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required
Science
Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 56/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Open Notify if you need specialized Aerospace & Astrodynamics tools running via a local process. Choose Science if your workspace requires Aerospace & Astrodynamics integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's
mcpServers manifest.Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
Choose Open Notify when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aerospace & Astrodynamics domain.
- You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Choose Science when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aerospace & Astrodynamics domain.
- You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
- Primary tools included: get_iss_location, get_earthquakes, get_air_quality.
Feature & Specification Comparison
Tools & Capabilities Breakdown
Open Notify Tools (0)
No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.
Science Tools (4)
get_iss_location
Fetch the International Space Station's current latitude, longitude, and Unix timestamp from the Open Notify API. No inputs required; returns a real-time position fix.
get_earthquakes
Retrieve up to 20 globally recent earthquakes from the USGS FDSN service, filtered by lookback period (1–30 days, default 1) and minimum magnitude (default 4.0). Returns magnitude, location name, depth (km), coordinates, time, and tsunami warning flag.
get_air_quality
Check current air quality at a latitude/longitude. Returns US AQI score and category plus PM2.5, PM10, ozone, NO2, and CO levels.
get_apod
Get NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day with image URL, title, and explanation. Optionally specify a date (e.g., '2024-01-15').
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Open Notify Configuration
Science Configuration