# Example: NASA Module

This is some starter code which you could use if you want to use the NASA API. You will need to sign up at <https://api.nasa.gov/> to get your API Key.

{% hint style="warning" %}

## API Key

Some APIs do not keep their API public and you will need to go on their website and sign up to receive a unique API key.&#x20;

Make sure you replace `"DEMO_KEY"` with a real key from the NASA API in the **`API_KEY`** variable.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

<pre class="language-python" data-title="nasa.py"><code class="lang-python"><strong>import requests
</strong>
# Base URL for NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) API
API_URL = "https://api.nasa.gov/planetary/apod"
API_KEY = "YOUR_KEY"  # Replace with your NASA API key

def fetch_apod(date=None):
    """Fetch NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)."""
    params = {"api_key": API_KEY}
    if date:
        params["date"] = date  # Format: YYYY-MM-DD
    
    response = requests.get(API_URL, params=params)
    
    if response.status_code == 200:
        data = response.json()
        return {
            "title": data.get("title", "Unknown"),
            "date": data.get("date", "Unknown"),
            "explanation": data.get("explanation", "No description available."),
            "image_url": data.get("url", "No image available")
        }
    else:
        print("Error fetching data from NASA API.")
        return None

def display_apod(apod_data):
    """Display APOD details."""
    if apod_data:
        print(f"Title: {apod_data['title']}")
        print(f"Date: {apod_data['date']}")
        print(f"Description: {apod_data['explanation'][:200]}...")
        print(f"Image URL: {apod_data['image_url']}")
    else:
        print("No data to display.")

</code></pre>

## Testing the Above

```python
"""Functions to interact with the NASA APOD API."""
date = input("Enter a date (YYYY-MM-DD) or press Enter for today's APOD: ")
apod_data = fetch_apod(date if date else None)
display_apod(apod_data)
```