Build a NASA Near-Earth Object Dashboard

A near-Earth object dashboard can explain scale and motion, but poor labels can make ordinary astronomical passes look like emergencies. The NASA Near-Earth Objects Scraper provides normalized measurements and official links for a more careful interface.

Model objects and approaches separately

Create interface tests for extreme numeric ranges, long object names, missing approach fields, and several encounters for one object. Space data varies enough that a layout tuned to one sample can silently truncate the most interesting records.

Use NASA reference ID as the object key. Store name, magnitude, diameter range, potentially hazardous flag, sentry flag, and JPL link in an object table. Put approach date, velocity, miss distance, and orbiting body in a related approach table.

{"startDate":"2026-07-21","endDate":"2026-07-28","maxResults":250}

The seven-day range is the maximum NASA feed window. For an ongoing dashboard, schedule successive windows and upsert by object and approach time. Show diameter as a range, label velocity units, and provide human-scale distance comparisons only when the conversion is correct and clearly sourced.

Separate classification from prediction. “Potentially hazardous” should appear as NASA's flag with an explanatory tooltip; it should not drive a red impact-warning banner. Display collection time and official links. Detect a failed or quota-limited run before replacing the current view with an empty state.

For education, let users sort by approach date, estimated size, speed, or miss distance while preserving the scientific caveats. The dashboard then becomes a transparent exploration tool rather than a sensationalized countdown.