ESA title

The mission

From 27 July 2014 to 15 January 2025, Gaia has made more than three trillion observations of two billion stars and other objects throughout our Milky Way galaxy and beyond, mapping their motions, luminosity, temperature and composition. Gaia's extraordinarily precise three-dimensional map 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
  • End of science observations: 15 January 2025
  • Upcoming data releases:
    Data Release 4 (based on 66 months of data): expected December 2026
    Data Release 5 (based on all mission data): not before the end of 2030
  • Previous data releases:
    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

Gaia reveals that most Milky Way companion galaxies are new…

24/11/2021 15648 views 170 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Is the nearest star cluster to the Sun being destroyed?

24/03/2021 19085 views 123 likes
Read
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 123572 views 400 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Five fascinating Gaia revelations about the Milky Way

21/09/2020 17131 views 130 likes
Read
Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Space Safety

Gaia revolutionises asteroid tracking

01/07/2020 7769 views 89 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Galactic crash may have triggered Solar System formation

25/05/2020 30762 views 153 likes
Read
The warped disc of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Science & Exploration

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

02/03/2020 23210 views 122 likes
Read
Stellar pair discovered in Gaia16aye microlensing event
Science & Exploration

Global Gaia campaign reveals secrets of stellar pair

21/01/2020 5831 views 36 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Gaia untangles the starry strings of the Milky Way

28/08/2019 11992 views 128 likes
Read
Jupiter's largest moons
Science & Exploration

Astronomers spy Europa blocking distant star – thanks to Ga…

25/07/2019 11011 views 125 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Gaia starts mapping our galaxy’s bar

16/07/2019 9579 views 102 likes
Read
Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Enabling & Support

Gaia’s biggest operation since launch

15/07/2019 10975 views 145 likes
Read
Pinpointing Gaia from Earth
Science & Exploration

Observing Gaia from Earth to improve its star maps

02/05/2019 7428 views 88 likes
Read
Future motions of the Milky Way, Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies
Science & Exploration

Gaia clocks new speeds for Milky Way-Andromeda collision

07/02/2019 28867 views 177 likes
Read
Artist’s impression of crystallisation in white dwarf
Science & Exploration

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

09/01/2019 14979 views 162 likes
Read
A major event in the formation of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Galactic ghosts: Gaia uncovers major event in the formation…

31/10/2018 29009 views 191 likes
Read
Sprinting stars in the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Gaia spots stars flying between galaxies

02/10/2018 21541 views 188 likes
Read
Artist impression of ‘Oumuamua
Science & Exploration

Gaia finds candidates for interstellar ‘Oumuamua’s home

25/09/2018 10841 views 113 likes
Read
Perturbations in the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Gaia hints at our Galaxy’s turbulent life

19/09/2018 26041 views 200 likes
Read
Beta Pictoris system
Science & Exploration

Infant exoplanet weighed by Hipparcos and Gaia

20/08/2018 9042 views 132 likes
Read
Gaia’s sky in colour
Science & Exploration

Gaia creates richest star map of our Galaxy – and beyond

25/04/2018 481461 views 542 likes
Read
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 5318 views 28 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Close encounters of the stellar kind

31/08/2017 17895 views 113 likes
Read
Stars speeding through the Galaxy
Science & Exploration

Artificial brain helps Gaia catch speeding stars

26/06/2017 9498 views 83 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

The future of the Orion constellation

09/06/2017 38824 views 181 likes
Read
Gaia’s first sky map
Science & Exploration

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

14/09/2016 164106 views 399 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Watch Gaia first data release media briefing

12/09/2016 23324 views 147 likes
Read
Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

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

01/09/2016 3613 views 35 likes
Read
Rosetta comet seen by Gaia
Science & Exploration

Celebrity comet spotted among Gaia’s stars

03/11/2015 6073 views 70 likes
Read
Stellar density map
Science & Exploration

Gaia's first year of scientific observations

25/08/2015 18810 views 156 likes
Read
Stellar density map
Science & Exploration

Counting stars with Gaia

03/07/2015 18374 views 118 likes
Read
Artist's impression of Type Ia supernova
Science & Exploration

Gaia discovers its first supernova

12/09/2014 22838 views 143 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Gaia: ‘Go’ for science

29/07/2014 11492 views 91 likes
Read
Gaia calibration image
Science & Exploration

Gaia comes into focus

06/02/2014 23510 views 131 likes
Read
Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Enabling & Support

The experts behind Gaia's arrival at nothingness

15/01/2014 16732 views 145 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

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

08/01/2014 14354 views 78 likes
Read
Gaia liftoff
Science & Exploration

Gaia enters its operational orbit

08/01/2014 24635 views 100 likes
Read
Gaia liftoff
Science & Exploration

Liftoff for ESA’s billion-star surveyor

19/12/2013 31527 views 154 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Gaia has ticket to ride

18/12/2013 12292 views 61 likes
Read
Gaia launch
Enabling & Support

Mission control ready for Gaia launch

17/12/2013 14541 views 66 likes
Read
Farewell to Gaia
Science & Exploration

Gaia secured inside fairing

13/12/2013 9405 views 60 likes
Read
Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

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

12/12/2013 4149 views 17 likes
Read
Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Gaia launch postponement update

23/10/2013 13887 views 70 likes
Read
Gaia mapping the stars of the Milky Way
Science & Exploration

Gaia: launch postponed

22/10/2013 3284 views 33 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Countdown to launch of ESA’s billion-star surveyor

21/10/2013 6246 views 53 likes
Read
Antonov plane at Toulouse airport during Gaia loading
Science & Exploration

Gaia has arrived in French Guiana

23/08/2013 8294 views 60 likes
Read
Science & Exploration

Europe bids Gaia a safe journey

27/06/2013 9073 views 60 likes
Read
Gaia thermal–vacuum test
Agency

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

18/09/2012 1113 views 4 likes
Read
Enabling & Support

Gaia spreads its wings

07/12/2011 2338 views 2 likes
Read
Gaia camera array
Enabling & Support

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

06/07/2011 9398 views 16 likes
Read
1 2 >