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Just a couple of handy Jupyter notebooks that let anyone quickly get the latest Mars Insight Weather Data from the NASA Insight API.

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getInsight: Mars Weather Data Exploration

Overview

getInsight is a collection of Jupyter notebooks that allows you to retrieve and analyze the latest Mars Weather data from NASA's Insight Weather Service API using a demo key.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10 or higher
  • pip (Python package manager)
  • Git

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/getInsight.git
cd getInsight

2. Create a Virtual Environment

# For macOS/Linux
python3 -m venv marsenv

# Activate the virtual environment
source marsenv/bin/activate

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Install Jupyter Kernel

python -m ipykernel install --user --name=marsenv --display-name "Python (marsenv)"

Available Notebooks

1. grab-mars-api-no-auth.ipynb

  • Purpose: Retrieve and display the latest Mars Weather API response
  • Features:
    • Fetches data using NASA's demo key
    • Prints raw API response
    • No data export

2. excel-grab-mars-insight-data-demokey.ipynb

  • Purpose: Retrieve Mars Weather data and export to Excel
  • Features:
    • Fetches data using NASA's demo key
    • Exports data to an Excel spreadsheet
    • Filename includes current date

Understanding the Excel Output

Excel Sheet Structure

The exported Excel file contains multiple sheets to help you understand the Mars Weather data:

1. Summary Sheet

  • Purpose: Provides an overview of the dataset
  • Columns:
    • Total Sols Recorded: Number of Martian days in the dataset
    • Average Temperature (°F): Mean temperature across recorded sols
    • Average Wind Speed (mph): Mean wind speed
    • Most Common Wind Direction: Predominant wind direction

2. Sol-by-Sol Data Sheet

  • Purpose: Detailed information for each Martian day (sol)
  • Key Columns:
    • Sol: Martian day number
    • Earth Date: Corresponding Earth date
    • Temperature High (°F): Maximum temperature for the sol
    • Temperature Low (°F): Minimum temperature for the sol
    • Wind Speed (mph): Average wind speed
    • Wind Direction: Predominant wind direction
    • Pressure (Pa): Atmospheric pressure

Data Interpretation Tips

  • Sol: A Martian day, slightly longer than an Earth day (24 hours, 39 minutes)
  • Temperature: Recorded in Fahrenheit
  • Wind Speed: Measured in miles per hour
  • Pressure: Measured in Pascals (Pa)

Common Observations

  • Martian temperatures can vary dramatically between day and night
  • Wind directions can change frequently
  • Atmospheric pressure is much lower than on Earth

Visualization Suggestions

  • Use Excel's built-in charting tools to create:
    • Temperature trends over time
    • Wind speed variations
    • Pressure changes

Limitations

  • Data is based on NASA's Insight Lander location
  • Represents local conditions at the landing site
  • May not reflect global Martian weather patterns

Running the Notebooks

  1. Start Jupyter Notebook
jupyter notebook
  1. In the Jupyter interface:
    • Select the notebook you want to run
    • Ensure the kernel is set to "Python (marsenv)"
    • Run cells sequentially using Shift+Enter

Troubleshooting

  • Module Not Found Errors: Ensure you've activated the virtual environment and installed all dependencies
  • Kernel Issues: Verify the marsenv kernel is installed and selected
  • API Limitations: NASA's demo key has request rate limits

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please submit a pull request or open an issue.

Disclaimer

This project uses NASA's Mars Weather API demo key. For extensive use, consider obtaining a personal API key from NASA.

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Just a couple of handy Jupyter notebooks that let anyone quickly get the latest Mars Insight Weather Data from the NASA Insight API.

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