# NASA NTRS Scraper (`crawlerbros/nasa-ntrs-scraper`) Actor Scrape the NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) - millions of aerospace and engineering research documents. Search by keyword, filter by STI type, NASA center, and date range. Returns title, abstract, authors, affiliations, keywords, report numbers, and PDF links. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/nasa-ntrs-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## NASA NTRS Scraper Scrape the **NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)** — NASA's open-access repository of aerospace, engineering, and scientific research documents spanning over 80 years of spaceflight history. Search by keyword, filter by document type and NASA center, retrieve full metadata including authors, affiliations, keywords, report numbers, and direct PDF links. HTTP-only via the public NTRS API. No auth, no proxy required. ### What this actor does - **Two modes:** `search` (keyword search with filters), `getDocument` (fetch by document ID) - **Flexible filtering:** by STI document type, NASA center, and publication date range - **Full metadata:** title, abstract, authors with affiliations, subject categories, keywords, report numbers - **Direct PDF links:** extracts PDF download URLs from the document record - **Pagination:** automatically pages through large result sets - **Empty fields are omitted** — no nulls in output ### Output per document | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `id` | string | NASA NTRS document ID | | `title` | string | Document title | | `abstract` | string | Abstract (truncated at 2000 characters) | | `authors` | array | List of author names | | `authorAffiliations` | array | List of `{name, affiliation}` objects | | `subjectCategories` | array | NASA subject categories | | `keywords` | array | Document keywords | | `stiType` | string | STI document type (e.g. Technical Report) | | `reportNumbers` | array | Assigned report numbers | | `publicationDate` | string | Publication date | | `modifiedDate` | string | Last modified date | | `centerName` | string | NASA center full name | | `centerAbbrev` | string | NASA center abbreviation (e.g. GSFC) | | `pdfUrl` | string | Direct link to the PDF document | | `sourceUrl` | string | NTRS citation page URL | | `recordType` | string | Always `"document"` | | `scrapedAt` | string | ISO 8601 timestamp | ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `mode` | string | `search` | `search` or `getDocument` | | `searchText` | string | `rocket propulsion` | Keywords to search (mode=search) | | `stiType` | string | (any) | Filter by document type | | `centerName` | string | (any) | Filter by NASA center abbreviation | | `dateMin` | string | – | Min publication date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `dateMax` | string | – | Max publication date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `documentIds` | array | `[]` | Document IDs to fetch (mode=getDocument) | | `maxItems` | integer | `25` | Max documents to return (1–2000) | #### Example: search for recent Mars mission reports ```json { "mode": "search", "searchText": "Mars surface exploration", "stiType": "Technical Report", "maxItems": 20 } ```` #### Example: filter by NASA center and date range ```json { "mode": "search", "searchText": "solar panel efficiency", "centerName": "GSFC", "dateMin": "2015-01-01", "dateMax": "2023-12-31", "maxItems": 50 } ``` #### Example: fetch specific documents by ID ```json { "mode": "getDocument", "documentIds": ["20230001234", "20220005678"], "maxItems": 2 } ``` ### Supported NASA Centers | Abbreviation | Full Name | |---|---| | ARC | Ames Research Center | | DFRC | Armstrong Flight Research Center | | GRC | Glenn Research Center | | GSFC | Goddard Space Flight Center | | HQ | NASA Headquarters | | JSC | Johnson Space Center | | KSC | Kennedy Space Center | | LaRC | Langley Research Center | | MSFC | Marshall Space Flight Center | | SSC | Stennis Space Center | | WFF | Wallops Flight Facility | ### FAQs **Do I need an API key?** No. The NASA NTRS API is publicly accessible with no authentication required. **How many documents can I scrape?** Up to 2000 per run. The actor pages through results automatically. **Are PDF links always available?** No. Not all documents have associated PDF files. The actor extracts a PDF link when available, preferring STI-type downloads. **What is an STI type?** STI (Scientific and Technical Information) types classify the kind of document — Technical Report, Conference Paper, Journal Article, etc. **Can I filter by multiple centers?** Currently one center can be selected per run. Run the actor multiple times with different center values and merge results if needed. **How far back does the data go?** NTRS contains documents dating back to the early days of NASA, including NACA reports from the 1940s and 1950s. **What subjects are covered?** Aerospace engineering, propulsion, aeronautics, space science, materials science, robotics, communications, Earth observation, and more. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): Search for documents or retrieve a specific document by ID. ## `searchText` (type: `string`): Keywords to search the NASA NTRS database. ## `stiType` (type: `string`): Filter by scientific and technical information (STI) document type. ## `centerName` (type: `string`): Filter by NASA research center. ## `dateMin` (type: `string`): Filter documents published on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). ## `dateMax` (type: `string`): Filter documents published on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD). ## `documentIds` (type: `array`): List of NASA NTRS document IDs to retrieve. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of documents to return (1–2000). ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "search", "searchText": "rocket propulsion", "stiType": "", "centerName": "", "maxItems": 25 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `documents` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped NASA technical document records. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "search", "searchText": "rocket propulsion", "maxItems": 25 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/nasa-ntrs-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "mode": "search", "searchText": "rocket propulsion", "maxItems": 25, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/nasa-ntrs-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "mode": "search", "searchText": "rocket propulsion", "maxItems": 25 }' | apify call crawlerbros/nasa-ntrs-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/nasa-ntrs-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "NASA NTRS Scraper", "description": "Scrape the NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) - millions of aerospace and engineering research documents. Search by keyword, filter by STI type, NASA center, and date range. Returns title, abstract, authors, affiliations, keywords, report numbers, and PDF links.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "XVEclKZEjW7iX3vHT" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~nasa-ntrs-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-nasa-ntrs-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~nasa-ntrs-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-nasa-ntrs-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~nasa-ntrs-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-nasa-ntrs-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "mode" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "search", "getDocument" ], "type": "string", "description": "Search for documents or retrieve a specific document by ID.", "default": "search" }, "searchText": { "title": "Search text (mode=search)", "type": "string", "description": "Keywords to search the NASA NTRS database." }, "stiType": { "title": "STI type filter", "enum": [ "", "Technical Report", "Technical Memorandum", "Conference Paper", "Journal Article", "Technical Note", "Contractor Report", "Technical Translation", "Special Publication", "Other" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by scientific and technical information (STI) document type.", "default": "" }, "centerName": { "title": "NASA center filter", "enum": [ "", "ARC", "DFRC", "GRC", "GSFC", "HQ", "JSC", "KSC", "LaRC", "MSFC", "SSC", "WFF" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by NASA research center.", "default": "" }, "dateMin": { "title": "Publication date min", "type": "string", "description": "Filter documents published on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)." }, "dateMax": { "title": "Publication date max", "type": "string", "description": "Filter documents published on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD)." }, "documentIds": { "title": "Document IDs (mode=getDocument)", "type": "array", "description": "List of NASA NTRS document IDs to retrieve.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 2000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of documents to return (1–2000).", "default": 25 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```