ESA's Planned Gaia Spacecraft To Create Revolutionary Skymap

Beginning soon after its launch in 2010, the Gaia spacecraft will begin capturing details for about 1 billion stars in our galaxy from it's solar orbit (at the L2 position). Over a 5-year period, Gaia will observe each of it's target stars about 100 times. Results will be used to create a three-dimensional star catalog including such details as position and motion, color, changes in brightness, and composition. As a side benefit, this craft will observe asteroids that may cross Earth's orbit, potentially alerting us to possible impact threats.

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