NASA MCP Server for Claude Code 9 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic CLI for terminal-first development. Add NASA as an MCP server in one command and Claude Code will discover every tool at runtime — ideal for automation pipelines, CI/CD integration, and headless workflows via the Vinkius.
ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER
Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.
Vinkius Desktop App
The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install NASA and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.
# Your Vinkius token — get it at cloud.vinkius.com
claude mcp add nasa --transport http "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
About NASA MCP Server
Connect to NASA's open APIs through any AI agent and explore space science through natural conversation.
Claude Code registers NASA as an MCP server in a single terminal command. Once connected, Claude Code discovers all 9 tools at runtime and can call them headlessly — ideal for CI/CD pipelines, cron jobs, and automated workflows where NASA data drives decisions without human intervention.
What you can do
- Astronomy Picture of the Day — Fetch today's APOD or any historical image with title, explanation and media URL
- Mars Rover Photos — Browse photos from Curiosity, Perseverance, Opportunity and Spirit rovers by date and camera
- Earth Satellite Imagery — View Landsat 8 satellite imagery for any coordinate on Earth with date filtering
- EPIC Earth Images — See full-disk Earth images from the DSCOVR satellite's Deep Space Camera
- Near-Earth Objects — Track asteroids and their size, velocity and hazard rating over a date range
- NASA Library Search — Search NASA's extensive image and video library with free-text queries
- Patent & Technology Transfer — Search NASA patents and discover technologies available for licensing
The NASA MCP Server exposes 9 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Code in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect NASA to Claude Code via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the NASA MCP Server with Claude Code.
Install Claude Code
Run npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code if not already installed
Add the MCP Server
Run the command above in your terminal
Verify the connection
Run claude mcp to list connected servers, or type /mcp inside a session
Start using NASA
Ask Claude: "Using NASA, show me..." — 9 tools are ready
Why Use Claude Code with the NASA MCP Server
Claude Code provides unique advantages when paired with NASA through the Model Context Protocol.
Single-command setup: `claude mcp add` registers the server instantly — no config files to edit or applications to restart
Terminal-native workflow means MCP tools integrate seamlessly into shell scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and automated DevOps tasks
Claude Code runs headlessly, enabling unattended batch processing using NASA tools in cron jobs or deployment scripts
Built by the same team that created the MCP protocol, ensuring first-class compatibility and the fastest adoption of new protocol features
NASA + Claude Code Use Cases
Practical scenarios where Claude Code combined with the NASA MCP Server delivers measurable value.
CI/CD integration: embed NASA tool calls in your deployment pipeline to validate configurations or fetch secrets before shipping
Headless batch processing: schedule Claude Code to query NASA nightly and generate reports without human intervention
Shell scripting: pipe NASA outputs into other CLI tools for data transformation, filtering, and aggregation
Infrastructure monitoring: run Claude Code in a cron job to query NASA status endpoints and alert on anomalies
NASA MCP Tools for Claude Code (9)
These 9 tools become available when you connect NASA to Claude Code via MCP:
get_apod
If no date is specified, returns today's APOD. Optionally specify a single date, a date range (start_date and end_date), or a count of random APODs. Returns the image/video URL, title, explanation, copyright and date. This is one of NASA's most popular APIs. Get NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)
get_earth_imagery
Requires longitude and latitude coordinates. Optionally specify a date (YYYY-MM-DD) to get imagery from a specific time. Returns the image URL and metadata. Useful for viewing geographic changes over time. Get satellite imagery of Earth from NASA
get_epic_images
Optionally specify a date (YYYY-MM-DD) and whether to use enhanced-color images (true) or natural-color (false, default). Returns image URLs, coordinates and acquisition time. Get Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) images from NASA
get_mars_photos
Optionally filter by Earth date (YYYY-MM-DD), camera type (FHAZ, RHAZ, MAST, CHEMCAM, MAHLI, MARDI, NAVCAM, PANCAM, MINITES), and page number. Each photo includes the image URL, rover name, camera, Earth date and Mars sol date. Get Mars Rover photos from NASA
get_mars_rovers
Useful for discovering which rovers are active and when they last took photos. Get information about NASA Mars rovers
get_neo_feed
Optionally specify a start and end date (YYYY-MM-DD, max 7 days range). Returns asteroid count per day, estimated diameters, velocity, and whether they are potentially hazardous. Great for space awareness and planetary defense tracking. Get Near-Earth Object (NEO) feed from NASA
get_tech_transfer
Optionally filter by category (software, patent). Returns descriptions, contact information and availability status. Get NASA technology transfer information
search_nasa_library
Accepts a free-text query and returns matching media with titles, descriptions, NASA center information and media type (image, video, audio). Optionally set page number for pagination. This is the primary search endpoint for NASA media assets. Search the NASA Image and Video Library
search_patents
Requires a search query. Returns patent titles, numbers, abstracts and licensing availability. Useful for technology transfer and commercialization research. Search NASA patents
Example Prompts for NASA in Claude Code
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Code agent to start working with NASA immediately.
"Show me today's Astronomy Picture of the Day."
"Show me photos taken by the Perseverance rover on Mars."
"Are there any potentially hazardous asteroids approaching Earth this week?"
Troubleshooting NASA MCP Server with Claude Code
Common issues when connecting NASA to Claude Code through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
Command not found: claude
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-codeConnection timeout
NASA + Claude Code FAQ
Common questions about integrating NASA MCP Server with Claude Code.
How do I add an MCP server to Claude Code?
claude mcp add --transport http "" in your terminal. Claude Code registers the server and discovers all tools immediately.Can Claude Code run MCP tools in headless mode?
How do I list all connected MCP servers?
claude mcp in your terminal to see all registered servers and their status, or type /mcp inside an active Claude Code session.Connect NASA with your favorite client
Step-by-step setup guides for every MCP-compatible client and framework:
Anthropic's native desktop app for Claude with built-in MCP support.
AI-first code editor with integrated LLM-powered coding assistance.
GitHub Copilot in VS Code with Agent mode and MCP support.
Purpose-built IDE for agentic AI coding workflows.
Autonomous AI coding agent that runs inside VS Code.
Anthropic's agentic CLI for terminal-first development.
Python SDK for building production-grade OpenAI agent workflows.
Google's framework for building production AI agents.
Type-safe agent development for Python with first-class MCP support.
TypeScript toolkit for building AI-powered web applications.
TypeScript-native agent framework for modern web stacks.
Python framework for orchestrating collaborative AI agent crews.
Leading Python framework for composable LLM applications.
Data-aware AI agent framework for structured and unstructured sources.
Microsoft's framework for multi-agent collaborative conversations.
Connect NASA to Claude Code
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 9 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.