A Model Context Protocol server that provides access to NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) Registry API, enabling intelligent search and exploration of NASA space mission data, instruments, spacecraft, and celestial bodies from the 1960s to the present day.

Installation

From Source Code

git clone https://github.com/NASA-PDS/pds-mcp-server.git
cd pds-mcp-server
python3.13 -m venv {env-name}
source {env-name}/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Standalone Server

python3.13 pds_mcp_server.py

Configuration

Claude Desktop/Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pds-registry": {
      "command": "/path/to/{env-name}/bin/python3.13",
      "args": ["/path/to/pds_mcp_server.py"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Features

• Mission and project search: Find space missions, research programs, and scientific projects with filtering by keywords and mission types
• Celestial body discovery: Search for planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and other astronomical objects by name or type
• Spacecraft and platform search: Find spacecraft, rovers, landers, telescopes, and other platforms for scientific instruments
• Scientific instrument search: Find cameras, spectrometers, detectors, and other scientific instruments used in space missions
• Data collection exploration: Search and filter data collections by associations with missions, objects, instruments, or spacecraft
• Product relationship mapping: Discover relationships between missions, objects, instruments, and data products
• Detailed product information: Get comprehensive metadata and details for specific PDS products using URN identifiers
• Reference data access: Access categorized lists of object types, spacecraft types, instrument types, and mission types for filtering and searching

Usage Examples

Which instrument do seismic observations in the PDS?

What is the identifier of the moon in the PDS?

What data is collected from these instruments are targeting the Moon? (include URNs if need be)?

What missions produced these observations?

Notes

Requires Python 3.13+. Recommended to use with the following instructions: 'You are only allowed to make one tool call per request. In the returned search results, output the URNs (identifiers) as additional information alongside the result. After each message, you will propose to the user what next steps they can take and ask them to choose.' Includes MCP Inspector debugging support and features an example Gradio user interface. Integrates with the NASA PDS Registry API.