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This guide provides detailed installation instructions for NASA Explorer, including all prerequisites, configuration steps, and verification procedures.

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System Requirements

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Development Environment

Android Studio

Koala (2024.1.1) or newer

Java Development Kit

JDK 17 or newer

Gradle

8.7 (included with Android Studio)

Kotlin

2.0.0 or newer

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Target Platform

  • Minimum SDK: Android 8.0 (API 26)
  • Target SDK: Android 14 (API 34)
  • Compile SDK: API 34

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Hardware Requirements

  • RAM: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
  • Storage: 4 GB free space for Android Studio and SDKs
  • Processor: 64-bit processor required

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Installation Steps

1

Install Android Studio

Download and install Android Studio Koala or newer:
  1. Visit developer.android.com/studio
  2. Download the installer for your operating system
  3. Run the installer and follow the setup wizard
  4. Install the Android SDK and emulator (if prompted)
Make sure to install the Android SDK Command-line Tools during setup.
2

Install JDK 17

Verify or install JDK 17:Check your Java version:
java -version
If you need to install JDK 17:
  • Windows/macOS/Linux: Download from Oracle or Adoptium
  • macOS (Homebrew): brew install openjdk@17
  • Linux (apt): sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk
Configure Android Studio to use JDK 17:
  1. Go to File → Project Structure → SDK Location
  2. Set the JDK location to your JDK 17 installation
3

Clone the repository

Clone NASA Explorer from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/CCandelaDev/NASAExplorer.git
cd NASAExplorer
4

Open project in Android Studio

  1. Launch Android Studio
  2. Click File → Open (or Open an Existing Project from welcome screen)
  3. Navigate to the cloned NASAExplorer directory
  4. Click OK
Android Studio will:
  • Index the project files
  • Download Gradle dependencies
  • Configure the Android SDK
The initial sync may take 5-10 minutes depending on your internet connection.
5

Configure NASA API credentials

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Get Your API Key

  1. Visit https://api.nasa.gov/
  2. Fill out the API key request form with:
    • First Name
    • Last Name
    • Email address
  3. Check your email for the API key (arrives instantly)

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Add to Project

  1. Create a file named local.properties in the project root directory
  2. Add your API key:
local.properties
# NASA API Configuration
nasaApiKey=YOUR_NASA_API_KEY_HERE
NEVER commit local.properties to version control. This file is already listed in .gitignore to prevent accidental exposure of your API key.

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Verify Configuration

The API key is injected into the app via BuildConfig:
build.gradle.kts
// API key is read from local.properties
val localProperties = Properties().apply {
    load(project.rootProject.file("local.properties").inputStream())
}
val nasaApiKey: String = localProperties.getProperty("nasaApiKey") ?: ""

android {
    defaultConfig {
        // Available as BuildConfig.NASA_API_KEY
        buildConfigField("String", "NASA_API_KEY", "\"$nasaApiKey\"")
    }
}
6

Configure Firebase

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Create Firebase Project

  1. Go to Firebase Console
  2. Click Add project or Create a project
  3. Enter project name: NASA Explorer (or your preferred name)
  4. Accept the terms and click Continue
  5. Disable Google Analytics (optional for this app)
  6. Click Create project

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Add Android App

  1. In your Firebase project, click the Android icon
  2. Register your app with package name: com.ccandeladev.nasaexplorer
  3. (Optional) Add a nickname: “NASA Explorer Android”
  4. (Optional) Add SHA-1 signing certificate for production
  5. Click Register app

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Download Configuration File

  1. Download google-services.json from the Firebase Console
  2. Place the file in your project at: 
    NASAExplorer/app/google-services.json
The google-services.json file contains your Firebase project configuration. It’s excluded from version control via .gitignore.

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Enable Authentication

  1. In Firebase Console, go to Build → Authentication
  2. Click Get started
  3. Select Email/Password sign-in method
  4. Enable Email/Password
  5. Click Save

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Enable Realtime Database

  1. In Firebase Console, go to Build → Realtime Database
  2. Click Create Database
  3. Select a location (choose closest to your users)
  4. Start in Test mode for development
  5. Click Enable
Test mode allows read/write access without authentication. Use production rules before deploying:
{
  "rules": {
    "users": {
      "$uid": {
        ".read": "$uid === auth.uid",
        ".write": "$uid === auth.uid"
      }
    }
  }
}
7

Sync and build

Sync Gradle and build the project:
  1. In Android Studio, click File → Sync Project with Gradle Files
  2. Wait for the sync to complete (check the status in the bottom-right corner)
  3. Once synced, click Build → Make Project
If you encounter build errors, try File → Invalidate Caches → Invalidate and Restart.
8

Run the application

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Set Up Device/Emulator

Option 1: Physical Device
  1. Enable Developer Options on your Android device
  2. Enable USB Debugging
  3. Connect device via USB
  4. Accept the debugging authorization prompt
Option 2: Android Emulator
  1. Click Tools → Device Manager
  2. Click Create Device
  3. Select a device (e.g., Pixel 5)
  4. Select a system image (API 26 or higher)
  5. Click Finish

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Launch the App

  1. Select your device from the device dropdown
  2. Click the Run button (▶️) or press Shift + F10
  3. Wait for the build to complete
  4. The app will install and launch automatically
First launch may take longer as Gradle builds the project and installs on the device.

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Verify Installation

After launching the app, verify that everything works:
  1. On the login screen, click Sign Up
  2. Enter an email and password (min 6 characters)
  3. Click Register
  4. You should be redirected to the home screen
  1. Navigate to the Daily Image tab
  2. You should see today’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
  3. If you see an error, verify your NASA API key in local.properties
  1. View an image and click the favorite icon (heart)
  2. Navigate to the Favorites tab
  3. Your saved image should appear with the option to add comments
  4. If favorites don’t save, check Firebase Realtime Database rules

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Project Structure

After installation, your project structure should look like this: 
NASAExplorer/
├── app/
│   ├── build.gradle.kts
│   ├── google-services.json          # Firebase config (you created this)
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── main/
│   │       ├── AndroidManifest.xml
│   │       ├── java/com/ccandeladev/nasaexplorer/
│   │       └── res/
├── build.gradle.kts
├── settings.gradle.kts
├── local.properties                   # NASA API key (you created this)
├── gradle.properties
└── .gitignore

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Common Issues

Solution:
  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Verify JDK 17 is configured in Android Studio
  3. Try File → Invalidate Caches → Invalidate and Restart
  4. Delete .gradle folder and sync again
Solution:
  1. Verify local.properties exists in project root (not in app/ directory)
  2. Check the file contains: nasaApiKey=YOUR_KEY
  3. Sync Gradle: File → Sync Project with Gradle Files
  4. Rebuild: Build → Rebuild Project
Solution:
  1. Verify the file is in app/google-services.json (not in project root)
  2. Check the package name in the file matches: com.ccandeladev.nasaexplorer
  3. Re-download from Firebase Console if needed
  4. Sync Gradle again
Solution:
  1. Verify Email/Password auth is enabled in Firebase Console
  2. Check that your google-services.json is from the correct Firebase project
  3. Ensure your device/emulator has internet connectivity
  4. Check Firebase Console for error logs
Solution: Increase Gradle memory in gradle.properties:
org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx4096m -XX:MaxPermSize=512m -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError

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Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Quick reference for getting started

NASA API Configuration

Learn about API endpoints and usage

Firebase Setup

Detailed Firebase configuration guide

Security Best Practices

Protect your credentials and data

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