Media Asset Retrieval

Media Asset Retrieval

Resolve a searchable NASA media item into its files, metadata, and captions.

1. Search the NASA Image and Video Library. The response carries collection items whose data blocks hold the nasa_id needed by every later step, plus a total_hits count used to decide whether there is anything to resolve.
2. Resolve the nasa_id from the search hit into its asset manifest. The manifest lists an href for every rendition NASA holds for that media item (thumbnail, small, medium, original), which is what a client actually downloads.
3. Fetch the metadata location for the same nasa_id. NASA returns a signed URL pointing at the full metadata document rather than the metadata itself, so the caller follows the returned location.
4. Video assets carry a separate captions file. Resolve its location so the caller can attach captions alongside the downloaded video rendition.

What you'll need to have ready

• query: Free text search terms (e.g. "apollo 11 landing").
• mediaType: Restrict the search to one media type.
• center: Optional NASA center that published the media (e.g. "JPL").
• yearStart: Optional earliest year to include in the search.
• yearEnd: Optional latest year to include in the search.

For your developer

Arazzo workflow nasa:media-asset-retrieval, 4 operations: searchMedia → getAsset → getMetadata → getCaptions. Specs on APIs.io.