NASA Open APIs

NASA Mars Rover Photos API

Image data gathered by NASA's Curiosity, Opportunity, Spirit, and Perseverance rovers on Mars. Each photo can be queried by Earth date or Martian sol with optional camera filter (FHAZ, RHAZ, MAST, CHEMCAM, MAHLI, MARDI, NAVCAM, PANCAM, MINITES).

NASA Mars Rover Photos API is one of 17 APIs that NASA Open APIs publishes on the APIs.io network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification.

This API exposes 1 machine-runnable capability that can be deployed as REST, MCP, or Agent Skill surfaces via Naftiko.

Tagged areas include Mars, Rovers, Imagery, Planetary Science, and NASA. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes API documentation, an OpenAPI specification, and 1 Naftiko capability spec.

Documentation GitHub OpenAPI

OpenAPI Specification

openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: NASA Mars Rover Photos API
  description: |
    Image data gathered by NASA's Curiosity, Opportunity, Spirit, and Perseverance rovers on Mars. Each photo
    can be queried by Earth date or Martian sol with optional camera filter.
  version: '1.0'
  contact:
    name: NASA Open APIs
    url: https://api.nasa.gov/
  license:
    name: US Government Work (Public Domain)
servers:
- url: https://api.nasa.gov/mars-photos/api/v1
security:
- ApiKeyAuth: []
paths:
  /rovers:
    get:
      summary: List Mars Rovers
      operationId: listRovers
      tags:
      - Rovers
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/ApiKey'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: List of rovers and their mission manifests.
  /rovers/{rover}/photos:
    get:
      summary: Get Photos for a Rover
      operationId: getRoverPhotos
      tags:
      - Photos
      parameters:
      - name: rover
        in: path
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - curiosity
          - opportunity
          - spirit
          - perseverance
      - name: sol
        in: query
        description: Martian sol the photos were taken on. One of sol or earth_date is required.
        schema:
          type: integer
          minimum: 0
      - name: earth_date
        in: query
        description: Earth date the photos were taken on (YYYY-MM-DD).
        schema:
          type: string
          format: date
      - name: camera
        in: query
        description: Filter by camera abbreviation.
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - FHAZ
          - RHAZ
          - MAST
          - CHEMCAM
          - MAHLI
          - MARDI
          - NAVCAM
          - PANCAM
          - MINITES
      - name: page
        in: query
        schema:
          type: integer
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/ApiKey'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Photos taken on the requested sol/date.
  /rovers/{rover}/latest_photos:
    get:
      summary: Get Most Recent Photos for a Rover
      operationId: getRoverLatestPhotos
      tags:
      - Photos
      parameters:
      - name: rover
        in: path
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/ApiKey'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Most recent photos returned by the rover.
  /manifests/{rover}:
    get:
      summary: Get Rover Mission Manifest
      operationId: getRoverManifest
      tags:
      - Manifests
      parameters:
      - name: rover
        in: path
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/ApiKey'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Mission manifest including landing date, launch date, status, max sol, max date, and per-sol photo counts.
components:
  securitySchemes:
    ApiKeyAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: query
      name: api_key
  parameters:
    ApiKey:
      name: api_key
      in: query
      required: true
      schema:
        type: string
        default: DEMO_KEY

NASA Mars Rover Photos API

Documentation

Specifications

Other Resources

OpenAPI Specification