Space Data — NASA data: APOD, asteroids & ISS

Tools / Space Data

Picture of the Day

Get NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Get today's picture, a specific date, a date range, or random pictures.

Returns: Title, explanation, image URL, HD URL, media type, and copyright for the astronomy picture of the day

Parameters

datestringSpecific date in YYYY-MM-DD format. Defaults to today if omitted.

start_datestringStart of date range in YYYY-MM-DD format. Returns all APODs in the range.

end_datestringEnd of date range in YYYY-MM-DD format. Defaults to today if start_date is set.

countnumberGet N random pictures (1-10). Cannot be used with date params.

Example

Get today's astronomy picture

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "space-data",
  "skill": "picture_of_the_day",
  "input": {}
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Near Earth Objects

Get asteroids and near-Earth objects passing close to Earth in a date range. Returns name, estimated size, hazard status, velocity, and miss distance for each object.

Returns: List of asteroids with name, estimated diameter, hazard status, velocity, and miss distance sorted by closest approach

Parameters

start_date *stringStart date in YYYY-MM-DD format for the search range

end_datestringEnd date in YYYY-MM-DD format. Defaults to start_date if omitted (single day).

Example

Get near-Earth objects for a single day

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "space-data",
  "skill": "near_earth_objects",
  "input": {
    "start_date": "2026-03-20"
  }
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

ISS Position

Get the current real-time position of the International Space Station. Returns latitude and longitude coordinates with a UTC timestamp.

Returns: Current latitude, longitude, and timestamp of the International Space Station

Example

Get the current position of the ISS

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "space-data",
  "skill": "iss_position",
  "input": {}
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

People in Space

Get a list of everyone currently in space right now. Returns the total count, each person's name and which spacecraft they are aboard, grouped by spacecraft.

Returns: Count of people in space, list of astronauts with names and spacecraft, grouped by spacecraft

Example

Get everyone currently in space

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "space-data",
  "skill": "people_in_space",
  "input": {}
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Earth Imagery

Get the most recent Earth images from NASA's EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) on the DSCOVR satellite. Returns full-disc images of Earth with date, caption, and coordinates.

Returns: Latest Earth images from the EPIC camera with image URLs, captions, dates, and centroid coordinates

Example

Get the latest Earth images from EPIC

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "tool": "space-data",
  "skill": "earth_imagery",
  "input": {}
}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Quick Start

MCP (Claude Code)

claude mcp add --transport stdio \
  --env TOOLROUTER_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY \
  toolrouter -- npx -y toolrouter-mcp

REST API

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOOLROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"tool":"space-data","skill":"picture_of_the_day","input":{}}' \
  https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call

Use Cases

Open Track Space Missions

Track Space Missions

Stay updated on space missions with NASA imagery and daily astronomical highlights.

Space Data4 agent guides

Open Look Up Astronomical Events

Look Up Astronomical Events

Research astronomical events with NASA imagery and expert explanations of celestial phenomena.

Space Data4 agent guides

Open Search Papers by Topic

Search Papers by Topic

Find relevant academic papers on any research topic across millions of scholarly publications.

Academic Research4 agent guides

Open Geocode Addresses to Coordinates

Geocode Addresses to Coordinates

Convert street addresses into precise latitude and longitude coordinates for mapping and spatial analysis.

Address Geocoding4 agent guides

View all use cases for Space Data→

Workflows

Open Environmental Monitoring

Environmental Monitoring

Monitor environmental conditions combining seismic activity, weather forecasts, near-Earth object tracking, and visual dashboards.

Earthquake Monitor

Weather Forecast

Space Data

Generate Chart

4 steps4 tools

Open Space Education Kit

Space Education Kit

Build engaging space education materials with NASA data, research, illustrations, and data visualizations.

Space Data

Wikipedia Lookup

Generate Image

Generate Chart

4 steps4 tools

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day?

Yes. `picture_of_the_day` supports today, a specific date, a date range, or a random set of APOD images.

Can I check asteroid activity for a date range?

Yes. `near_earth_objects` returns asteroids for a date range up to 7 days, including estimated size, hazard status, velocity, and miss distance.

Can I see where the ISS is right now?

Yes. `iss_position` returns the current latitude, longitude, and timestamp for the International Space Station, and `people_in_space` shows who is currently aboard.

Can I get Earth images from space?

Yes. `earth_imagery` returns full-disc Earth images from the DSCOVR satellite, which works well for dashboards and educational content.