On March 27, 2025, ESA confirmed that the spacecraft was "passivated" (drained of energy) and placed into a safe "retirement orbit" around the Sun.
About the Gaia Mission
Originally named Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA), later simplified to Gaia.
Launched in 2013 by the European Space Agency (ESA), it aimed to create the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way through astrometry (measuring positions and movements of celestial bodies).
Position: Placed at Lagrange Point 2 (L2), 5 million km from Earth (behind Earth when viewed from the Sun), ensuring an unobstructed cosmic view.
Scientific Instruments:
Twin Telescopes: Captured light from different directions.
Digital Camera: Nearly 1 billion pixels, the largest ever flown in space.
Three Key Instruments:
Astrometer: Measures precise locations of celestial bodies.
Photometer: Determines brightness and temperature of stars.
Spectrometer: Identifies chemical composition and motion of objects.
Key Discoveries of Gaia
Mapping the Milky Way in 3D: The First precise 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy also helped understand the shape of the galaxy, including:
The central bar and spiral arms.
A warped, wobbly disc, likely caused by past collisions with smaller galaxies.
Ripples in the galaxy from these collisions may have led to the formation of new stars, including the Sun.
Discovery of New Black Holes: A new class of black holes that are invisible and can only be detected by their gravitational effects.
Discovered one of the closest black holes to Earth.
Tracking asteroids and space threats: Gaia identified over 1,50,000 asteroids, tracking their orbits and potential threats to Earth.
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