SpaceData

SpaceData is a high-performance, asynchronous Python SDK for NASA's open APIs. It provides a type-safe interface for retrieving astronomical data, near-Earth objects, and space weather information.

Purpose

To simplify access to NASA's complex data structures by providing a unified, developer-friendly client with built-in utilities for data analysis and media handling.

Installation

pip install spacedata

API Key: While the SDK works with the default DEMO_KEY, we recommend getting a free API key from NASA for higher rate limits and production use.

Features

• Async Support: Efficient non-blocking I/O using httpx
• Type Safety: Full Pydantic integration for validation and autocompletion
• Smart Automation:
  • Automatic pagination handling
  • Date-range splitting for large queries
  • Media file downloading
• Data Science Ready:
  • Convert results to Pandas, Polars, or PyArrow
  • Export directly to DataFrames for analysis
• Performance:
  • Built-in caching (in-memory or DuckDB)
  • Automatic retry with exponential backoff

Examples

1. Astronomy Picture of the Day

import asyncio
from spacedata import SpaceDataClient

async def main():
    async with SpaceDataClient() as client:
        result = await client.planetary.apod(start_date="2025-01-01", end_date="2025-01-05")
        async for item in result:
            print(f"{item.date}: {item.title}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

2. Near-Earth Objects (NEO) Lookup

import asyncio
from spacedata import SpaceDataClient

async def main():
    async with SpaceDataClient() as client:
        result = await client.neo.lookup(asteroid_ids=[3542519])
        async for asteroid in result:
            print(f"Asteroid: {asteroid.name} (Hazardous: {asteroid.is_potentially_hazardous_asteroid})")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

3. Convert to DataFrame for Analysis

import asyncio
from spacedata import SpaceDataClient

async def main():
    async with SpaceDataClient() as client:
        result = await client.neo.feed(start_date="2025-01-01", end_date="2025-01-31")
        df = await result.to_pandas()
        print(f"Found {len(df)} asteroids")
        print(df[['name', 'is_potentially_hazardous_asteroid']].head())

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Documentation

Core

• Client & Configuration
• Settings & Configuration
• SpaceDataResult Object

Resources

Planetary

Resource	Description	Docs
APOD	Astronomy Picture of the Day	View

Near-Earth Objects (NEO)

Resource	Description	Docs
NEO Feed	Near-Earth Objects by date range	View
NEO Lookup	Specific NEO details by ID	View
NEO Browse	Full Near-Earth Object database	View

InSight

Resource	Description	Docs
Mars Weather	Mars atmospheric data from InSight lander	View

DONKI (Space Weather Events)

Resource	Description	Docs
CME	Coronal Mass Ejections events	View
CME Analysis	CME analysis with ENLIL simulations	View
FLR	Solar Flare events	View
GST	Geomagnetic Storm events	View
HSS	High Speed Stream events	View
IPS	Interplanetary Shock events	View
MPC	Magnetopause Crossing events	View
RBE	Radiation Belt Enhancement events	View
SEP	Solar Energetic Particle events	View
WSA	WSA+ENLIL solar wind simulations	View
Notifications	Space weather notification messages	View