{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "The API Briefing: NASA Builds API.NASA.gov to Launch More APIs to Developers |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The API Briefing: NASA Builds API.NASA.gov to Launch More APIs to Developers",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/05/27/the-api-briefing-nasa-builds-api-nasa-gov-to-launch-more-apis-to-developers/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The API Briefing: NASA Builds API.NASA.gov to Launch More APIs to Developers","summary" : "NASA has been busy since we last visited their collection of APIs back in August 2014. NASA has just launched API.NASA.gov where developers can learn to use existing NASA","date" : "2015-05-27T10:00:44-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"bbrantley" : "Bill Brantley"},"topics" : {
        
            "application-programming-interface" : "Application programming interface"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-05-27-the-api-briefing-nasa-builds-api-nasa-gov-to-launch-more-apis-to-developers.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/05/2015-05-27-the-api-briefing-nasa-builds-api-nasa-gov-to-launch-more-apis-to-developers.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/05/2015-05-27-the-api-briefing-nasa-builds-api-nasa-gov-to-launch-more-apis-to-developers.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/05/2015-05-27-the-api-briefing-nasa-builds-api-nasa-gov-to-launch-more-apis-to-developers.md","slug" : "the-api-briefing-nasa-builds-api-nasa-gov-to-launch-more-apis-to-developers","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/05/27/the-api-briefing-nasa-builds-api-nasa-gov-to-launch-more-apis-to-developers/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/05/600-x-400-Asterank-API-April-27th-2070-3D-map-of-significant-asteroids-overlaid-onto-the-orbits-of-Mercury-Venus-Earth-and-Mars.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Asterank API displays three-dimensional map of significant asteroids overlaid onto the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, dated April 27, 2070.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eNASA has been busy since we \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/08/27/the-api-briefing-mining-the-rich-data-resources-of-nasa-the-international-space-apps-challenges/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003elast visited their collection of APIs back in August 2014\u003c/a\u003e. NASA has just launched \u003ca href=\"http://api.nasa.gov/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAPI.NASA.gov\u003c/a\u003e where developers can learn to use existing NASA APIs or contribute their APIs to the catalog.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNASA encourages developers to obtain an API Key to begin using or contributing APIs. Developers do not need an API key, but their requests to the API will be limited. I would encourage developers to obtain an API key. API keys are free and allow NASA to track who is using the APIs. This is useful information because it tells which APIs are most popular and should be given more resources. API key tracking also helps to determine which data sets should be given APIs next.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe API catalog on API.NASA.gov is still under construction, but developers can visit the \u003ca href=\"https://data.nasa.gov/data\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eNASA developers’ page to find APIs\u003c/a\u003e. There are close to 10,000 data sets on \u003ca href=\"https://data.nasa.gov/data\" target=\"_blank\"\u003edata.NASA.gov\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://data.nasa.gov/developer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e37 APIs\u003c/a\u003e. The most popular API is the \u003ca href=\"https://api.nasa.gov/api.html#apod\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAstronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)\u003c/a\u003e which displays a selected astronomical picture from any of the many NASA missions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother interesting API is \u003ca href=\"http://www.asterank.com/api\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAsterank\u003c/a\u003e which is a database of asteroids. Check out the \u003ca href=\"http://www.asterank.com/3d/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ethree-dimensional map of significant asteroids\u003c/a\u003e overlaid onto the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. This display drives home the threat of a collision with a Near-Earth Object asteroid.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLooking back on Earth, there is a \u003ca href=\"https://api.nasa.gov/api.html#earth\" target=\"_blank\"\u003epotential API that will unlock the data from the Landsat satellites\u003c/a\u003e. As pointed out by NASA, there is an estimated total annual value of $2.19 billion in Landsat data for the commercial sector. NASA encourages developers to contribute ideas for turning this data into valuable APIs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAPI.NASA.gov is off to a promising start, and I encourage developers to check regularly in to see what new API offerings are available. I also encourage developers to inspect the large catalog of NASA datasets to find the next promising API. NASA has one of the richest set of data resources in the federal government and probably even among the academic community. Sign up for your NASA API key today!\u003cem\u003e*API – Application Programming Interface; how software programs and databases share data and functions with each other. Check out \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/04/30/apis-in-government/\"\u003eAPIs in Government\u003c/a\u003e for more information.\u003c/em\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eEach week, “\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/application-programming-interface/\"\u003eThe API Briefing\u003c/a\u003e” will showcase government APIs and the latest API news and trends. Visit this column every week to learn how government APIs are transforming government and improving government services for the American people. If you have ideas for a topic or have questions about APIs, please contact me via \u003ca href=\"mailto:%20bill.brantley@wdc.usda.gov\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eemail\u003c/a\u003e. All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinions of the USDA and GSA.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}