ESA - Gaia - Archive

ESA title

The mission

Gaia is creating an extraordinarily precise three-dimensional map of more than a thousand million stars throughout our Milky Way galaxy and beyond, mapping their motions, luminosity, temperature and composition. This huge stellar census will provide the data needed to tackle an enormous range of important questions related to the origin, structure and evolutionary history of our galaxy.

Launch: 19 December 2013
Orbit: L2 Lagrange point
Previous data release milestones:
Data Release 1: 14 September 2016
Data Release 2: 25 April 2018
Early Data Release 3: 3 December 2020
Data Release 3: 13 June 2022
Focused Product Release: 10 October 2023

1 billion pixel camera
10 m sunshield
1800 million objects

Gaia

Gaia observes the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Watch live: first impressions of Gaia data release 3

10/06/2022 7084 views 104 likes

New evidence of watery plumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa

Science & Exploration

Jupiter’s moon Europa to obscure distant star

07/06/2022 6739 views 120 likes

Science & Exploration

Media invitation: new details about our Milky Way in the th…

31/05/2022 2825 views 61 likes

The colour of the sky from Gaia’s Early Data Release 3

Science & Exploration

Gaia finds parts of the Milky Way much older than expected

23/03/2022 20236 views 132 likes

Gaia snaps photo of Webb

Science & Exploration

Gaia snaps photo of Webb at L2

16/03/2022 28737 views 136 likes

Science & Exploration

Gaia reveals that most Milky Way companion galaxies are new…

24/11/2021 12273 views 165 likes

Science & Exploration

Is the nearest star cluster to the Sun being destroyed?

24/03/2021 17820 views 122 likes

Gaia’s stellar motion for the next 400 thousand years

Science & Exploration

Gaia’s new data takes us to the Milky Way’s anticentre and …

03/12/2020 120857 views 396 likes

Science & Exploration

Five fascinating Gaia revelations about the Milky Way

21/09/2020 11590 views 114 likes

Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Gaia revolutionises asteroid tracking

01/07/2020 6275 views 88 likes

Science & Exploration

Galactic crash may have triggered Solar System formation

25/05/2020 23317 views 135 likes

The warped disc of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Science & Exploration

Milky Way’s warp caused by galactic collision, Gaia suggests

02/03/2020 17521 views 113 likes

Stellar pair discovered in Gaia16aye microlensing event

Science & Exploration

Global Gaia campaign reveals secrets of stellar pair

21/01/2020 5301 views 36 likes

Science & Exploration

Gaia untangles the starry strings of the Milky Way

28/08/2019 10541 views 127 likes

Jupiter's largest moons

Science & Exploration

Astronomers spy Europa blocking distant star – thanks to Ga…

25/07/2019 10304 views 125 likes

Science & Exploration

Gaia starts mapping our galaxy’s bar

16/07/2019 8799 views 100 likes

Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Enabling & Support

Gaia’s biggest operation since launch

15/07/2019 9836 views 144 likes

Pinpointing Gaia from Earth

Science & Exploration

Observing Gaia from Earth to improve its star maps

02/05/2019 6463 views 87 likes

Future motions of the Milky Way, Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies

Science & Exploration

Gaia clocks new speeds for Milky Way-Andromeda collision

07/02/2019 25725 views 175 likes

Artist’s impression of crystallisation in white dwarf

Science & Exploration

Gaia reveals how Sun-like stars turn solid after their demi…

09/01/2019 13154 views 161 likes

A major event in the formation of the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Galactic ghosts: Gaia uncovers major event in the formation…

31/10/2018 25656 views 188 likes

Sprinting stars in the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Gaia spots stars flying between galaxies

02/10/2018 20437 views 185 likes

Artist impression of ‘Oumuamua

Science & Exploration

Gaia finds candidates for interstellar ‘Oumuamua’s home

25/09/2018 10053 views 113 likes

Perturbations in the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Gaia hints at our Galaxy’s turbulent life

19/09/2018 24133 views 196 likes

Beta Pictoris system

Science & Exploration

Infant exoplanet weighed by Hipparcos and Gaia

20/08/2018 8359 views 132 likes

Gaia’s sky in colour

Science & Exploration

Gaia creates richest star map of our Galaxy – and beyond

25/04/2018 457697 views 539 likes

How many stars will there be in the second Gaia data release?

Science & Exploration

Call for media: Second data release from ESA's Gaia mission

19/04/2018 4786 views 28 likes

Science & Exploration

Close encounters of the stellar kind

31/08/2017 15845 views 112 likes

Stars speeding through the Galaxy

Science & Exploration

Artificial brain helps Gaia catch speeding stars

26/06/2017 8623 views 83 likes

Science & Exploration

The future of the Orion constellation

09/06/2017 34598 views 178 likes

Gaia’s first sky map

Science & Exploration

Gaia’s billion-star map hints at treasures to come

14/09/2016 161481 views 398 likes

Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Call for media: First data release from ESA's Gaia mission

01/09/2016 3330 views 35 likes

Rosetta comet seen by Gaia

Science & Exploration

Celebrity comet spotted among Gaia’s stars

03/11/2015 5353 views 70 likes

Stellar density map

Science & Exploration

Gaia's first year of scientific observations

25/08/2015 18325 views 156 likes

Stellar density map

Science & Exploration

Counting stars with Gaia

03/07/2015 17747 views 118 likes

Artist's impression of Type Ia supernova

Science & Exploration

Gaia discovers its first supernova

12/09/2014 21380 views 143 likes

Science & Exploration

Gaia: ‘Go’ for science

29/07/2014 10567 views 91 likes

Gaia calibration image

Science & Exploration

Gaia comes into focus

06/02/2014 23116 views 130 likes

Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Enabling & Support

The experts behind Gaia's arrival at nothingness

15/01/2014 16202 views 145 likes

Science & Exploration

Journey to a billion suns – world premiere of planetarium s…

08/01/2014 13672 views 78 likes

Gaia liftoff

Science & Exploration

Gaia enters its operational orbit

08/01/2014 23263 views 100 likes

Gaia liftoff

Science & Exploration

Liftoff for ESA’s billion-star surveyor

19/12/2013 30611 views 154 likes

Science & Exploration

Gaia has ticket to ride

18/12/2013 11837 views 61 likes

Gaia launch

Enabling & Support

Mission control ready for Gaia launch

17/12/2013 14139 views 66 likes

Farewell to Gaia

Science & Exploration

Gaia secured inside fairing

13/12/2013 9057 views 60 likes

Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Call for Media: ESA’s Galaxy-mapping Gaia ready for launch …

12/12/2013 3929 views 17 likes

Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Gaia launch postponement update

23/10/2013 13495 views 70 likes

Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way

Science & Exploration

Gaia: launch postponed

22/10/2013 3094 views 33 likes

Science & Exploration

Countdown to launch of ESA’s billion-star surveyor

21/10/2013 5854 views 53 likes

Antonov plane at Toulouse airport during Gaia loading

Science & Exploration

Gaia has arrived in French Guiana

23/08/2013 7950 views 60 likes

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