NASA Space Intelligence Scraper

Extract space data from NASA's public APIs with AI-powered discovery scoring (0-100).

🚀 Features

• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): Daily space photos with explanations
• Near-Earth Asteroids (NeoWs): Track potentially hazardous asteroids
• AI Discovery Scoring: Intelligent 0-100 ranking for most interesting discoveries
• Free NASA API: No paid subscriptions required

📊 Data Sources

APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day)

• Daily astronomy images and videos
• Professional explanations
• HD images available
• Historical archive access

NeoWs (Near-Earth Object Web Service)

• Asteroid size estimates
• Close approach dates and distances
• Velocity data
• Hazard classification

🎯 Use Cases

• Media & Publishing: Source space imagery and stories
• Education: Teaching materials for astronomy courses
• Research: Space data analysis and tracking
• Space Enthusiasts: Stay updated on cosmic discoveries
• Content Creation: Space-themed content for blogs/social media

💡 AI Discovery Scoring

APOD Scoring (0-100):

• Media Type (25 pts): Video content scores higher
• Recency (25 pts): Recent discoveries prioritized
• Detail Level (25 pts): Comprehensive explanations ranked higher
• HD Availability (25 pts): High-resolution content preferred

Asteroid Scoring (0-100):

• Hazard Level (40 pts): Potentially hazardous asteroids score highest
• Size (30 pts): Larger asteroids more significant
• Close Approach (20 pts): Closer passes more newsworthy
• Velocity (10 pts): Faster objects more remarkable

🔧 Configuration

Required Inputs:

• API Key: Get free NASA API key at https://api.nasa.gov (optional, DEMO_KEY included)

Optional Inputs:

• APOD Count: Number of astronomy pictures to fetch (0-100, default: 5)
• Asteroid Count: Number of asteroids to fetch (0-100, default: 5)
• Hazardous Only: Filter to potentially hazardous asteroids only
• Min Diameter: Minimum asteroid size in kilometers

📈 Output Format

{
  "data_type": "apod",
  "title": "NGC4039: Starbirth and Galaxy Death",
  "date": "1997-05-06",
  "explanation": "Do star clusters form when galaxies collide?...",
  "media_type": "image",
  "url": "https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/9705/ngc4039_hst.jpg",
  "hdurl": "https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/9705/ngc4039_hst_big.jpg",
  "copyright": "AURA",
  "discovery_score": 85
}

{
  "data_type": "asteroid",
  "name": "(2015 XT168)",
  "is_potentially_hazardous": false,
  "estimated_diameter_km_min": 0.176,
  "estimated_diameter_km_max": 0.393,
  "close_approach_date": "2025-11-18",
  "relative_velocity_kps": "19.95",
  "miss_distance_au": "0.31",
  "miss_distance_km": "46355814",
  "orbiting_body": "Earth",
  "discovery_score": 72
}

💰 Pricing

Pay-per-event pricing:

• Actor Start: $0.00005 per run
• Per Result: $0.002 per space data item

Example: 1000 results = $2.00 + $0.00005 start fee

🎓 Getting NASA API Key

1. Visit https://api.nasa.gov
2. Enter name and email
3. Receive API key via email (~5 minutes)
4. Free tier: Unlimited requests per day!

📝 Example Use Case

Space News Website:

• Fetch 10 latest APOD entries daily
• Filter asteroids with diameter > 0.1km
• Display discoveries sorted by AI score
• Cost: ~$0.02 per day

🔗 Data Attribution

Data provided by NASA's Open Data Portal. Please credit NASA when using this data in publications or media.

🛠️ Technical Details

• Built with Python 3.11
• Uses aiohttp for async API calls
• Fully serverless on Apify platform
• Memory: 256 MB
• Typical runtime: 5-15 seconds

📞 Support

For issues or questions, visit the Apify Console actor page or NASA API documentation at https://api.nasa.gov