Welcome to NASA Explorer
NASA Explorer is a modern Android application built with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose that brings the wonders of space exploration to your fingertips. Discover daily astronomical images, explore random space phenomena, and build your personal collection of favorite cosmic discoveries.Quick Start
Get up and running in minutes with NASA Explorer
Installation Guide
Step-by-step setup instructions for developers
Core Features
Explore authentication, favorites, and image discovery
Architecture
Learn about the MVVM pattern and app structure
What is NASA Explorer?
NASA Explorer integrates with NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) API to provide:- Daily Space Images — View today’s featured astronomy picture with detailed explanations
- Random Discovery — Explore random astronomical images from NASA’s vast archive
- Date Range Search — Browse images from specific time periods
- Personal Favorites — Save and annotate your favorite space images with cloud sync
- Firebase Integration — Secure authentication and real-time database for user data
Key Features
Firebase Authentication
Secure user registration and login with email/password authentication
Cloud-Synced Favorites
Save images with personal notes, synced across devices via Firebase Realtime Database
Modern UI
Built with Jetpack Compose and Material Design 3 for a smooth, native Android experience
MVVM Architecture
Clean architecture with separation of concerns using ViewModels and repositories
Technology Stack
NASA Explorer is built with modern Android development best practices:- Language: Kotlin
- UI Framework: Jetpack Compose with Material Design 3
- Architecture: MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel)
- Dependency Injection: Hilt
- Networking: Retrofit with Gson
- Image Loading: Coil
- Backend: Firebase Authentication & Realtime Database
- Navigation: Type-safe navigation with Kotlin serialization
Project Background
NASA Explorer was developed as a Final Degree Project (TFG) for the Higher Degree in Multiplatform Application Development (DAM) program at Ilerna in 2024. It demonstrates modern Android development practices while providing a practical tool for space enthusiasts.Open Source
NASA Explorer is open source under the MIT license. Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome on GitHub.Next Steps
Get Started
Follow the quickstart guide to run the app
Configuration
Set up NASA API key and Firebase credentials