Integrating NASA Data in Talend Cloud Data Management Platform

Qlik's Talend Cloud Data Management Platform supports various data environments, enabling analytics for smarter decisions, operational data sharing, data and application modernization, and establishing data excellence for risk reduction. When paired with the CData API Driver for JDBC, you can improve data integration, quality, and governance for your NASA Data. This article shows how you can easily integrate to NASA using a CData JDBC Driver in Talend Cloud Data Management, and then view the data for simultaneous use in your workflow.

Prerequisites

Before connecting the CData JDBC Driver to view and work with your data in Talend Cloud Data Management Platform, make sure to download and install the latest version of Talend Studio on your system. Also, ensure that you have the required prerequisites.

1. A Talend Cloud Data Management account with appropriate permissions.
2. The CData API Driver for JDBC, which can be downloaded from the CData website.

Connect to NASA in Talend as a JDBC data source

Access Talend Data Management Cloud

1. Run the Talend Cloud Data Management Platform installed on your local system and click on Other Login Mode.
2. Click on Manage Connections. Set Repository to "Local" and enter the Name, Description and User E-mail in the respective spaces. Set the Workspace path and click on OK.
3. Now, select the Create a new project radio button to add a new project name and click on Create.
4. The new project should appear under the Select an existing project section. Click on Open. The Talend Cloud Data Management Platform workspace opens up.

Create a new connection

1. In the navigation pane, locate and expand the Metadata dropdown. Right-click on Db Connections and select Create Connection.
2. Search for and select 'JDBC' in the Find section of the Database Connection window. Then, click on Finish.
3. Enter the Name, Purpose and Description of the new database in Talend where you need to load the NASA data. Click on Next.

4. Generate a JDBC URL for connecting to NASA, beginning with jdbc:api: followed by a series of semicolon-separated connection string properties.

   Using API Key Authentication

   Most NASA API endpoints (APOD, NeoWS, DONKI, TechTransfer) require a NASA API key. Register for a free key at https://api.nasa.gov. The default DEMO_KEY provides limited access (30 requests/hour, 50 requests/day); a registered key allows 1,000 requests/hour.

   The following endpoints do not require an API key and work without authentication: EONET (Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker), EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera), NASA Image and Video Library, and TechPort.

   After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

   • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
   • APIKey: Set this to your NASA API key. Use DEMO_KEY for limited testing.

   Example Connection String

   Profile=C:\profiles\NASA.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=YOUR_NASA_API_KEY
   

   Connecting to NASA

   Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to NASA and query data from any of the available tables such as AstronomyPictureOfDay, NearEarthObjectFeed, EonetEvents, and NasaImageLibrary.

   Built-in Connection String Designer

   For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the NASA JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

   java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
   

   Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

   

   A typical JDBC URL is below:

   jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\NASA.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=YOUR_NASA_API_KEY
   

5. Enter the JDBC URL copied from CData API Driver for JDBC in Edit new database.

6. Click on the "(+) Add" button under Drivers. A 'newLine' will appear in the Drivers board. Click on (...) at the end of the new line, select the Install a new module radio button, and click on (...) to add the path to the JAR file, located in the 'lib' subfolder of the installation directory. Click on OK.
7. Select the Driver Class as cdata.jdbc.api (JAR file obtained from your installation directory given in the previous step).

Test the new connection

1. Click on Check Connection. If the entered details are correct, a "Connection successful" confirmation prompt will appear. Click on "OK" and "Finish".
2. Once the connection is established, right-click on the newly created connection and select Retrieve Schema. You can use the filters as well to retrieve the data as per your requirements. Click on Next.
3. Expand the "CData" catalog in the Schema window and select the tables you want to import from the NASA schema. Click on Next.
4. In the next step, select the columns you want to view from the table and click on Finish.
5. All the selected tables from the NASA schema are now populated under the Table Schemas section of the JDBC connection.
6. Right-click on any of the selected tables and click on Data Viewer to preview the data from the data source.

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for JDBC and integrate NASA data into Talend Cloud Data Management Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.