nasa

nasa

A Go client library for NASA’s open APIs, covering APOD, NeoWs, DONKI, the Image Library, SSD/CNEOS, and EONET.

Query NASA’s public data APIs from Go - astronomy photos, near-Earth objects, space weather events, satellite imagery, and more. Responses are returned as typed Go structs with rate limiting handled automatically. A CLI and an MCP server are also included for terminal and AI assistant usage.

• 6 NASA APIs - APOD, NeoWs, DONKI, NASA Image Library, SSD/CNEOS, EONET
• Built-in rate limiting - automatic 429 retry with header-based dynamic adjustment
• Typed responses - strongly typed Go structs, no raw JSON
• Context-aware - supports cancellation and timeouts
• CLI - access all APIs from the terminal
• MCP server - expose NASA APIs as tools for AI assistants

Install

go get github.com/peteretelej/nasa

API Key

Get a free API key at api.nasa.gov, then export it:

export NASA_API_KEY=your_key_here

Or specify it directly when creating the client:

client := nasa.NewClient(nasa.WithAPIKey("your_key_here"))

The SDK works without a key using NASA’s DEMO_KEY, but it is heavily rate-limited.

Quick Start

package main

import (
  "context"
  "fmt"
  "log"

  "github.com/peteretelej/nasa"
)

func main() {
  client := nasa.NewClient()

  apod, err := client.APOD.Today(context.Background())
  if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
  }
  fmt.Printf("%s: %s\n", apod.Title, apod.URL)
}

API Coverage

API	Description	Service
APOD	Astronomy Picture of the Day	client.APOD
NeoWs	Near-Earth Object Web Service	client.NEO
DONKI	Space Weather Database and Notification System	client.DONKI
NASA Image Library	Image and video search across NASA media	client.Images
SSD/CNEOS	Close approaches, fireballs, small bodies	client.SSD
EONET	Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker	client.EONET

Rate Limiting

The client automatically respects NASA API rate limits. With a registered key, the default is 1000 requests/hour.

client := nasa.NewClient()

CLI

go install github.com/peteretelej/nasa/cmd/nasa@latest

nasa apod                          # today's Astronomy Picture of the Day
nasa apod -date 2024-01-01        # APOD for a specific date
nasa neo feed                      # near-Earth objects for today
nasa donki cme                     # coronal mass ejections
nasa images search "apollo 11"     # search NASA image library
nasa ssd cad                       # close approach data

MCP Server

go install github.com/peteretelej/nasa/cmd/nasa-mcp@latest

Add to your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nasa": {
      "command": "nasa-mcp",
      "env": { "NASA_API_KEY": "your-key" }
    }
  }
}

The MCP server exposes 13 tools covering all 6 APIs. See the documentation for details.

Documentation

Full documentation at peteretelej.github.io/nasa.

Examples

Runnable programs covering every API are in examples/. Each is a single main.go with no external dependencies beyond the SDK.

Daily Briefing

Combines all six APIs into one summary - APOD, near-Earth objects, space weather, and active Earth events.

go run ./examples/daily-briefing

=== Today's APOD ===
  Title: Hello World
  URL:   https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2604/art002e000192_1050.jpg

=== Near-Earth Objects This Week ===
  105 objects tracked, 1 potentially hazardous

=== Solar Activity (7 days) ===
  Coronal mass ejections: 43
  Solar flares: 13

=== Active Earth Events ===
  [Wildfires] rx-12_ 13_ 14 Prescribed Fire, Burnett, Wisconsin
  [Wildfires] Rx Houston 3041 Prescribed Fire, Houston, Texas
  [Severe Storms] Tropical Cyclone Indusa
  [Wildfires] RX PCS Beauchamp North Prescribed Fire, Scott, Arkansas
  [Wildfires] Julie Pond Wildfire, Dorchester, Maryland

APOD Gallery

Fetches today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day plus a recent gallery.

go run ./examples/apod-gallery

NEO Watch

Tracks near-Earth objects for the current week, with details on close approaches and potentially hazardous asteroids.

go run ./examples/neo-watch

Space Weather

Queries DONKI for recent coronal mass ejections, solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and other space weather events.

go run ./examples/space-weather

Image Search

Searches the NASA Image and Video Library for media, with metadata and download links.

go run ./examples/image-search

Close Approaches

Queries SSD/CNEOS for recent fireballs, upcoming close approaches, and small body lookups.

go run ./examples/close-approaches

Earth Events

Lists active natural events from EONET - wildfires, storms, volcanic activity, and more.

go run ./examples/earth-events

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT