NASA JPL Small-Body Database Scraper

NASA JPL Small-Body Database Scraper

Scrape asteroid and comet data from the NASA JPL Small-Body Database, one object or a million. Each row includes orbital elements, physical parameters, and close-approach details. No API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The NASA JPL Small-Body Database is the authoritative source for asteroid and comet orbits, physical properties, and discovery circumstances. This Actor queries the public SBDB API directly, so you can pull a single object by designation or browse the entire catalogue without writing any code.

Who uses it	What they scrape NASA JPL Small-Body Database for
Astronomy researchers	Build a local dataset of asteroid orbits for dynamical studies
Space mission planners	Screen candidate near-Earth objects for rendezvous or deflection
Science educators	Create classroom datasets of real asteroid and comet properties
Data journalists	Fact-check stories about close approaches or newly discovered objects

What it does

This Actor collects small-body records from the NASA JPL Small-Body Database by designation or catalogue browse, and returns each object as a flat row with orbital and physical fields.

• 🔭 Lookup by designation: fetch full physical and orbital data for specific asteroids or comets by number, name, or SPK-ID.
• 📚 Catalogue browse: list many bodies of a chosen kind, such as numbered asteroids or unnumbered comets, when no designations are given.
• 🧮 Flat row output: every object is returned as one record with consistent fields for easy export and analysis.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with NASA JPL Small-Body Database data

🪐 Build an asteroid catalogue.

A researcher browses all numbered asteroids and exports the dataset to CSV for statistical analysis of orbital distributions.

🛰️ Screen near-Earth objects.

A mission planner looks up specific NEO designations to compare their orbital elements and physical sizes for a potential flyby.

📊 Track comet discoveries.

A science writer browses unnumbered comets to find recently discovered objects and verify their perihelion dates for an article.

🎓 Teach orbital mechanics.

An educator fetches a set of well-known asteroids and uses the semi-major axis and eccentricity fields in a classroom exercise.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key required	The SBDB public API is open, so you can start scraping immediately
Authoritative data	Orbital elements and physical parameters come straight from JPL
Flexible input	Fetch one object by name or browse thousands by category
Structured output	Every record is a flat row ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML

How it compares

No other Store actor targets NASA JPL Small-Body Database the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	NASA JPL Small-Body Database Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When NASA JPL Small-Body Database changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a list of designations for targeted lookups, or leave the list empty and choose a catalogue browse kind to list many bodies. The maximum items setting caps how many records are returned. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "designations": [
 "433",
 "1",
 "99942",
 "101955",
 "2",
 "4",
 "16",
 "21",
 "243"
 ],
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "designations": [
 "433",
 "1",
 "99942",
 "101955",
 "2",
 "4",
 "16",
 "21",
 "243"
 ],
 "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.004 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$0.40
1,000 results	$4.00
10,000 results	$40.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the NASA JPL Small-Body Database Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to NASA JPL Small-Body Database through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/jpl-small-body-database-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your designations are valid. If the list is empty, make sure you selected a browse kind. Also verify that the maximum items is at least 1.

Why did the run stop after 10 items?

Free Apify users are limited to 10 items as a preview. Upgrade to a paid plan to increase the maximum items up to 1,000,000.

Why is a designation not found?

The SBDB may not recognize the exact string. Try using the object's number or SPK-ID instead of a name, or check for typos.

Why are some fields empty in the output?

Not all objects have every physical parameter measured. The SBDB returns null for unknown values, which appear as empty fields in the dataset.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is the NASA JPL Small-Body Database?	It is a database of orbital and physical data for asteroids and comets maintained by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The data is served through a public API that this Actor queries.
Do I need an API key to use this Actor?	No. The SBDB API is open and does not require authentication, so you can run the Actor with your Apify account.
How do I look up a specific asteroid or comet?	Add its designation, number, name, or SPK-ID to the designations list. For example, enter "433" for Eros or "101955" for Bennu. Each entry is fetched individually with full data.
How do I list many bodies at once?	Leave the designations list empty and choose a catalogue browse kind, such as "Asteroids (numbered)" or "Comets (unnumbered)". The Actor will list bodies of that kind up to the maximum items limit.
What fields are returned for each object?	Each record includes orbital elements like semi-major axis and eccentricity, physical parameters like diameter and albedo, and close-approach details when available. The exact fields are shown in the sample output.
Is there a limit on how many objects I can scrape?	Free Apify users are limited to 10 items as a preview. Paid users can set the maximum items up to 1,000,000.
Can I export the data to CSV or Excel?	Yes. The Actor returns data in a structured format that you can export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform.
Does this Actor work for both asteroids and comets?	Yes. You can look up either type by designation, or browse catalogues for asteroids, comets, and their numbered or unnumbered subsets.
What is an SPK-ID?	An SPK-ID is a unique numeric identifier used by JPL's ephemeris system for solar system bodies. You can use it in the designations list to fetch a specific object.
How often is the SBDB data updated?	The SBDB is updated as new observations are processed by JPL. This Actor always queries the live API, so you get the latest data on each run.

Related actors

• nasa-exoplanet-archive-scraper: Use this to scrape exoplanet data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive instead of small bodies.

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.