specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: NASA
providerId: nasa
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - Government
  - Open Data
  - Space
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for NASA Open APIs: zero-cost public-good APIs whose only meaningful
  consumption signal is request volume per key. No invoiced charges; cost concerns are limited to internal
  consumer-side observability and rate-limit avoidance.'
sources:
  - https://api.nasa.gov/
  - https://api.nasa.gov/assets/html/authentication.html
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
serviceCategory: Open Data / Public Sector
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Free / Public Good
  billingFrequency: None
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: NASA Open APIs
  ServiceCategory: Open Data
  ProviderName: NASA
  PublisherName: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  InvoiceIssuerName: N/A (no invoicing)
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
meters:
  - name: api_requests
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api
      - api_key
      - endpoint
  - name: ratelimit_blocks
    unit: event
    aggregation: count
    dimensions:
      - api_key
      - api
  - name: demo_key_requests
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - source_ip
      - api
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Inspect the X-RateLimit-Limit and X-RateLimit-Remaining response headers on every call;
      log them per-consumer to track approach to the 1,000/hour cap.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Issue distinct api.nasa.gov API keys per consuming application or team to attribute usage;
      the platform itself does not provide chargeback because there is no charge.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Cache responses (especially APOD, EPIC, and NeoWs which change at most daily) to stay
      well below the hourly cap; avoid the shared DEMO_KEY for any real workload.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Each consuming team owns its NASA API key, monitors rate-limit headers, and contacts
      api@nasa.gov before scaling beyond 1,000 req/hour rather than retrying through 429 blocks.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com