# NASA Exoplanets MCP for AI Agents AI Agent Connect

> NASA Exoplanets — Worlds Beyond Our Solar System MCP gives your AI client direct access to NASA's Exoplanet Archive. It lets you query over 5,700 confirmed planets, find habitable zone candidates, and pull specific data from missions like Kepler and TESS. You can search by discovery method, facility, or year to get orbital periods, radii, and temperatures instantly without needing an API key.

## Overview
- **Category:** the-unthinkable
- **Price:** Free
- **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_naPu0iJCG0DvEVM30irKjg4PE9acQ0n9uPdeOWiZ/ai-agent-connect
- **Tags:** astronomy, exoplanets, planetary-science, database-query, scientific-data

## Description

This Connector connects your AI client directly to NASA's Exoplanet Archive, the primary database for confirmed planets outside our solar system. Instead of digging through complex spreadsheets or navigating multiple research papers, you can just ask your agent to pull specific data. It handles the heavy lifting of querying the archive for you, whether you're looking for rocky planets in habitable zones or trying to understand the history of discovery methods like transit or radial velocity. You'll get back precise numbers on orbital periods, mass, and equilibrium temperatures. It's a massive jump in efficiency for anyone who needs to move from a general idea to specific planetary data. By adding this to your Vinkius catalog, you turn a manual research process into a conversational one. You can quickly summarize discovery trends over the last three decades or isolate planets from specific missions like Kepler and TESS. It's built for speed and accuracy, giving you a direct line to decades of planetary science.

## Tools

### query_confirmed_planets
Search for specific planets by name, method, or year to get orbital and physical data. This helps you isolate specific records from the archive quickly.

### get_habitable_zone
Find planets where conditions might allow for liquid water on a rocky surface. This helps identify the most promising candidates for life.

### get_planet_stats
Retrieve global statistics on discovery methods and yearly trends in exoplanet science. Use this to see how the field has evolved over time.

### get_transit_planets
Pull all discoveries made via the transit method from the Kepler and TESS missions. This is useful for focusing on the most productive discovery methods.

## Prompt Examples

**Prompt:** 
```
What are some planets in the habitable zone?
```

**Response:** 
```
🌍 **Habitable Zone Candidates**

| Planet | Radius (R⊕) | Temp (K) | Method | Year |
|--------|------------|----------|--------|------|
| TRAPPIST-1 e | 0.92 | 251 | Transit | 2017 |
| TRAPPIST-1 f | 1.05 | 219 | Transit | 2017 |
| Kepler-442 b | 1.34 | 233 | Transit | 2015 |
| TOI-700 d | 1.19 | 268 | Transit | 2020 |

These are rocky planets with equilibrium temperatures between 200-320K where liquid water could potentially exist.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
How many planets were found using the transit method?
```

**Response:** 
```
📊 **Transit Discovery Statistics**

Transit is the most productive method for finding exoplanets, accounting for over 75% of all confirmed discoveries.

* **Total Transit Discoveries:** ~4,234
* **Primary Missions:** Kepler and TESS

This method allows us to see planets passing in front of their host stars, making it the primary way we find worlds like those in the TRAPPIST-1 system.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
What was the most common discovery method in the last 10 years?
```

**Response:** 
```
📈 **Discovery Trends**

Over the last decade, the **Transit method** has remained the dominant way to find new worlds, largely thanks to the Kepler and TESS missions.

* **Transit:** ~73.7% of discoveries
* **Radial Velocity:** ~18.8% of discoveries

While other methods like imaging and microlensing are still used, the sheer volume of transit data has completely shifted the landscape of planetary science.
```

## Capabilities

### Query specific planet records
Filter the archive by name, discovery method, facility, or year to get orbital and physical data.

### Isolate transit discoveries
Pull all exoplanets discovered via the transit method from the Kepler and TESS missions.

### Identify habitable zone candidates
Find planets where conditions might allow for liquid water on a rocky surface.

### Retrieve global discovery stats
Get totals, discovery methods, and yearly trends for exoplanet science.

### Analyze orbital metrics
Get specific data on orbital periods, radii, mass, and equilibrium temperatures.

## Use Cases

### Researching habitable zones
A student asks for rocky planets in the habitable zone and gets a list of candidates with temperatures and radii.

### Mission comparison
A researcher wants to see the difference in discovery counts between Kepler and TESS missions to compare mission success.

### Fiction world-building
A writer asks for planets with specific orbital periods to create a realistic alien solar system for a novel.

### Trend reporting
A blogger wants to know which discovery methods were most common in the 2010s versus today to write a history of space science.

## Benefits

- Stop manual searching: Use query_confirmed_planets to get specific data points in seconds rather than browsing archives.
- Instant mission filtering: Use get_transit_planets to isolate results from specific Kepler or TESS missions immediately.
- Targeted life-search: Use get_habitable_zone to quickly find the most promising candidates for liquid water.
- Rapid trend analysis: Use get_planet_stats to see how discovery methods have shifted over the last 30 years.
- No auth overhead: Access the NASA TAP service directly without the hassle of managing API keys or complex credentials.

## How It Works

The bottom line is you get instant access to NASA's planetary database without the manual research.

1. Connect this Connector to your AI client via the Vinkius dashboard.
2. Ask your agent to search for specific planet types, missions, or discovery trends.
3. Receive structured data on orbital periods, radii, and temperatures in your chat.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Does NASA Exoplanets MCP require an API key?**
No, it does not. This Connector uses the NASA TAP service, which is completely open and does not require you to manage any individual API keys or credentials.

**Can I find planets with liquid water using NASA Exoplanets MCP?**
Yes, you can. You can ask your agent to find planets in the habitable zone, which identifies rocky worlds where conditions might allow for liquid water.

**Does NASA Exoplanets MCP include data from the Kepler mission?**
Yes, it includes data from some of the most important missions, including Kepler and TESS, as well as various other discovery facilities.

**Can I search for planets by the year they were discovered?**
Yes, you can filter the results by year to see how many planets were found during specific periods, such as the peak discovery years of the 2010s.

**Is NASA Exoplanets MCP for confirmed planets only?**
Yes, this Connector specifically queries the confirmed exoplanet archive, ensuring that the data you get has been verified by NASA's planetary science teams.

**Can I use NASA Exoplanets MCP to find specific orbital periods?**
Yes, when you query for planets, the tool returns specific metrics including orbital periods, radii, mass, and equilibrium temperatures.

**What is the habitable zone?**
The habitable zone ('Goldilocks zone') is the range of distances from a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface — not too hot, not too cold. We filter for equilibrium temperatures between 200-320K and rocky sizes (< 2 Earth radii).