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
Gaia
Science & Exploration

The future of the Orion constellation

09/06/2017 34612 views 178 likes
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Gaia’s first sky map
Science & Exploration

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

14/09/2016 161487 views 398 likes
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Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

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

01/09/2016 3331 views 35 likes
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Rosetta comet seen by Gaia
Science & Exploration

Celebrity comet spotted among Gaia’s stars

03/11/2015 5354 views 70 likes
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Stellar density map
Science & Exploration

Gaia's first year of scientific observations

25/08/2015 18326 views 156 likes
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Stellar density map
Science & Exploration

Counting stars with Gaia

03/07/2015 17749 views 118 likes
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Artist's impression of Type Ia supernova
Science & Exploration

Gaia discovers its first supernova

12/09/2014 21387 views 143 likes
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Science & Exploration

Gaia: ‘Go’ for science

29/07/2014 10570 views 91 likes
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Gaia calibration image
Science & Exploration

Gaia comes into focus

06/02/2014 23119 views 130 likes
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Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Enabling & Support

The experts behind Gaia's arrival at nothingness

15/01/2014 16203 views 145 likes
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Science & Exploration

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

08/01/2014 13679 views 78 likes
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Gaia liftoff
Science & Exploration

Gaia enters its operational orbit

08/01/2014 23268 views 100 likes
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Gaia liftoff
Science & Exploration

Liftoff for ESA’s billion-star surveyor

19/12/2013 30613 views 154 likes
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Science & Exploration

Gaia has ticket to ride

18/12/2013 11838 views 61 likes
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Gaia launch
Enabling & Support

Mission control ready for Gaia launch

17/12/2013 14140 views 66 likes
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Farewell to Gaia
Science & Exploration

Gaia secured inside fairing

13/12/2013 9060 views 60 likes
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Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

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

12/12/2013 3932 views 17 likes
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Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Gaia launch postponement update

23/10/2013 13495 views 70 likes
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Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Gaia: launch postponed

22/10/2013 3094 views 33 likes
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Science & Exploration

Countdown to launch of ESA’s billion-star surveyor

21/10/2013 5855 views 53 likes
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Antonov plane at Toulouse airport during Gaia loading
Science & Exploration

Gaia has arrived in French Guiana

23/08/2013 7951 views 60 likes
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Science & Exploration

Europe bids Gaia a safe journey

27/06/2013 8542 views 60 likes
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Gaia thermal–vacuum test
Agency

Dialling down the heat on ESA’s billion-star surveyor

18/09/2012 888 views 4 likes
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Enabling & Support

Gaia spreads its wings

07/12/2011 1926 views 2 likes
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Gaia camera array
Enabling & Support

Eye of Gaia: billion-pixel camera to map Milky Way

06/07/2011 8612 views 14 likes
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Artist's impression of the Gaia satellite
Science & Exploration

Gaia to lift off from Europe’s Spaceport on a Soyuz launcher

16/12/2009 2087 views 1 likes
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Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Most extensive mapping of Milky Way a step closer

14/06/2005 1189 views 1 likes
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Gaia spacecraft showing deployed sunshield and solar arrays
Science & Exploration

Keeping ESA’s ‘lady of space’ cool

21/09/2004 2207 views 5 likes
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Gaia spacecraft
Science & Exploration

The billion-pixel camera

09/09/2004 9484 views 55 likes
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Gaia spacecraft
Science & Exploration

Mapping the Galaxy, and watching our backyard

25/06/2004 2773 views 12 likes
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