NASA MCP Server for Windsurf 9 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Windsurf brings agentic AI coding to a purpose-built IDE. Connect NASA through Vinkius and Cascade will auto-discover every tool. ask questions, generate code, and act on live data without leaving your editor.
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.
{
"mcpServers": {
"nasa": {
"url": "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.
Windsurf's Cascade agent chains multiple NASA tool calls autonomously. query data, analyze results, and generate code in a single agentic session. Paste Vinkius Edge URL, reload, and all 9 tools are immediately available. Real-time tool feedback appears inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor.
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 Windsurf 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 Windsurf via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the NASA MCP Server with Windsurf.
Open MCP Settings
Go to Settings → MCP Configuration or press Cmd+Shift+P and search "MCP"
Add the server
Paste the JSON configuration above into mcp_config.json
Save and reload
Windsurf will detect the new server automatically
Start using NASA
Open Cascade and ask: "Using NASA, help me...". 9 tools available
Why Use Windsurf with the NASA MCP Server
Windsurf provides unique advantages when paired with NASA through the Model Context Protocol.
Windsurf's Cascade agent autonomously chains multiple tool calls in sequence, solving complex multi-step tasks without manual intervention
Purpose-built for agentic workflows. Cascade understands context across your entire codebase and integrates MCP tools natively
JSON-based configuration means zero code changes: paste a URL, reload, and all 9 tools are immediately available
Real-time tool feedback is displayed inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor without switching contexts
NASA + Windsurf Use Cases
Practical scenarios where Windsurf combined with the NASA MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Automated code generation: ask Cascade to fetch data from NASA and generate models, types, or handlers based on real API responses
Live debugging: query NASA tools mid-session to inspect production data while debugging without leaving the editor
Documentation generation: pull schema information from NASA and have Cascade generate comprehensive API docs automatically
Rapid prototyping: combine NASA data with Cascade's code generation to scaffold entire features in minutes
NASA MCP Tools for Windsurf (9)
These 9 tools become available when you connect NASA to Windsurf 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 Windsurf
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Windsurf 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 Windsurf
Common issues when connecting NASA to Windsurf through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
Server not connecting
NASA + Windsurf FAQ
Common questions about integrating NASA MCP Server with Windsurf.
How does Windsurf discover MCP tools?
mcp_config.json file on startup and connects to each configured server via Streamable HTTP. Tools are listed in the MCP panel and available to Cascade automatically.Can Cascade chain multiple MCP tool calls?
Does Windsurf support multiple MCP servers?
mcp_config.json. Each server's tools appear in the MCP panel and Cascade can use tools from different servers in a single flow.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 Windsurf
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 9 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.