NASA Images MCP Server

A project to search NASA's image library using an MCP server and display images in an interactive UI.

🌟 Features:

• Dual Transport Support: Supports both stdio and Streamable HTTP transport
• Image Search: Search by keywords using NASA's Images API
• Interactive UI: Beautiful image viewer using MCP Apps Pattern
• Image Navigation: Display search results sequentially
• Session Management: Stateful session management

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or higher
• npm or yarn
• NASA API Key (get free at nasa.gov/api)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

cd nasa-images-mcp-server

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Set up environment variables:

cp .env.example .env

Edit the .env file to configure your NASA API key:

NASA_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
PORT=3000

4. Build:

npm run build

Getting a NASA API Key

1. Visit https://api.nasa.gov/
2. Enter your name and email address in the form
3. The API key will be sent to your email immediately
4. Add it to your .env file

Rate Limits:

• DEMO_KEY: 30 requests/hour, 50 requests/day
• Registered key: 1000 requests/hour

Usage

stdio Mode (Recommended for MCP Clients like Claude Desktop)

In stdio mode, the server communicates via stdin/stdout — no HTTP server is started. Logs are written to stderr.

Run with npx (no installation required)

npx @kaitoy/nasa-images-mcp-server --stdio

Run from local build

Pass the --stdio flag to use stdio transport:

node build/index.js --stdio

Claude Desktop Configuration

Using npx (recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nasa-images": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kaitoy/nasa-images-mcp-server", "--stdio"],
      "env": {
        "NASA_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using local build:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nasa-images": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/nasa-images-mcp-server/build/index.js", "--stdio"],
      "env": {
        "NASA_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP Server Mode

npm start

The server will start at http://localhost:3000.

Start on a Different Port

PORT=3001 npm start

About Transports

stdio Transport

Suitable for local MCP clients (e.g., Claude Desktop) that launch the server as a subprocess.

• Communicates via stdin/stdout
• Single session per process
• No network configuration required

Streamable HTTP Transport

The latest MCP HTTP transport protocol, suitable for remote or multi-client scenarios.

Key Features:

• ✅ Stateful Sessions: Issues a unique session ID for each client
• ✅ SSE Support: Supports push notifications from the server via Server-Sent Events
• ✅ JSON-RPC over HTTP: Communication via standard HTTP request/response
• ✅ Session Management: Automatic session lifecycle management

Integration with MCP Clients

Connecting with MCP Inspector (HTTP mode)

You can test the server using MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector http://localhost:3000/mcp

Connecting with MCP Inspector (stdio mode)

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node /path/to/nasa-images-mcp-server/build/index.js --stdio

Using with Custom MCP Clients

Steps to connect from a custom client:

1. Initialize Request (POST /mcp):

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1,
    "method": "initialize",
    "params": {
      "protocolVersion": "2024-11-05",
      "capabilities": {},
      "clientInfo": {
        "name": "my-client",
        "version": "1.0.0"
      }
    }
  }'

... View full README on GitHub