specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
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:
  - Government
  - Science
  - Space
  - Open Data
description: NASA Open APIs at api.nasa.gov are free of charge to all consumers. There are no paid tiers
  or commercial plans; access is governed by a single signed-up API key tier (1,000 requests per hour)
  and a shared DEMO_KEY for evaluation (30 per hour, 50 per day per IP). Higher limits require contacting
  api@nasa.gov.
sources:
  - https://api.nasa.gov/
  - https://api.nasa.gov/assets/html/authentication.html
plans:
  - id: nasa-demo-key
    name: DEMO_KEY
    type: freemium
    description: Shared evaluation key for trying the APIs without signup. Strict per-IP throttling.
    entries:
      - label: Hourly limit (per IP)
        name: demo_hourly
        type: quota
        metric: request
        limit: 30
        timeFrame: hour
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Daily limit (per IP)
        name: demo_daily
        type: quota
        metric: request
        limit: 50
        timeFrame: day
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: All NASA Open APIs (APOD, Mars Rover Photos, NeoWs, DONKI, EPIC, Image and Video Library)
      - name: No signup required
  - id: nasa-signed-up
    name: Signed-up API Key
    type: freemium
    description: Free personal API key obtained via the api.nasa.gov signup form. Default rate cap of
      1,000 requests per hour per key.
    entries:
      - label: Hourly limit (per key)
        name: keyed_hourly
        type: quota
        metric: request
        limit: 1000
        timeFrame: hour
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: All NASA Open APIs
      - name: Free signup with name + email
      - name: api.data.gov shared infrastructure
  - id: nasa-higher-limits
    name: Custom Higher Limits
    type: enterprise
    description: Researchers and integrations needing more than 1,000 requests/hour contact NASA directly.
      No published price; access is government-funded and free.
    entries:
      - label: Negotiated limit
        name: custom_limit
        type: quota
        metric: request
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: hour
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: 'free (contact api@nasa.gov)'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Coordinated allowlist or upstream API-specific access
      - name: All NASA Open APIs
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com
x-canonical:
  generated: '2026-10-08'
  vocabulary: all/0-working/economics/plans-canonical.yml
  models:
  - free
  units:
  - request
  plans:
  - name: DEMO_KEY
    access: freemium
    model: free
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - request
    periods:
    - day
    - hour
  - name: Signed-up API Key
    access: freemium
    model: free
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - request
    periods:
    - hour
  - name: Custom Higher Limits
    access: enterprise
    model: free
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - request
    periods:
    - hour