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

Near-Earth Objects (NEO)

InSight

DONKI (Space Weather Events)