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Three years ago the European Space Agency (ESA) launched Gaia. Gaia's job is to compile the most detailed 3D map ever of the Milky Way. She will be carefully charting one billion stars.

Today marked 1000 days after the launch and ESA provided the mission's first data release, the main feature being a catalogue of over a billion stars with their brightness and sky position. But there are also details about three thousand variable stars and two thousand quasars.

Over a period of five years Gaia will collect data on its target stars about seventy times - position, distance, movements, changes in brightness. The overall aim is to create a precise 3D map of over a thousand million stars.



Gaia's observations should also lead to the discovery of new celestial objects and more information about known ones, including asteroids, exoplanets and distant quasars.

Here is an artist's impression of Gaia and the Milky Way.

Here is a quick graphical summary of how Gaia works and the primary mission goals.