Gaia

Science with 1 billion objects in three dimensions
Welcome to ESA's web site for the Gaia scientific community

News & Announcements

2012-02-03 Release of the new issue of the DPAC Newsletter
The DPAC Newsletter no. 15 is available from early this week and there you will find information about some DPAC participating institutes like the one in Slovenia, the alignment between the VLBI and Gaia frames or the modelling of the RVS background signal arising from point sources. For more information, visit the following link.

2012-01-31 Open vacancy for a Java software developer at ARI Heidelberg
ARI/ZAH has a vacancy for a Java software developer till end of 2013. The position starts early/mid 2012; the precise time can be negotiated. The successful applicant will work on the preparation of the scientific data processing for the Gaia astronomy mission of the European Space Agency ESA, due for launch in late 2013. More details can be found in the following link.

2012-01-31 Open vacancy for a Gaia-related postdoc at ARI Heidelberg
ARI/ZAH has a vacancy for a two- to three-year postdoctoral position to do Gaia-related research and to contribute to the Gaia mission preparation. The position starts early/mid 2012; the precise time can be negotiated. More details can be found in the following link.

2011-12-07 Sunshield deployment test successfully completed
Gaia has passed a critical test: the spacecraft sunshield has been deployed successfully. During October 2011, the Flight Model (FM) Deployable Sunshield Assembly (DSA) was delivered to Astrium and integrated with the FM Service Module and Thermal Tent and a mass-representative model of the payload module. Once integrated, the first deployment test of the DSA mounted on the spacecraft took place in Astrium on 21 October. This test demonstrated correctness of alignment, confirmed the deployment functionality and verified the flatness of the deployed DSA. For more information, visit the Science & Technology and ESA web pages.

2011-10-27 Release of the new issue of the DPAC Newsletter
The DPAC Newsletter no. 14 is now available. In this issue you will learn more about the hardship Gaia will go through before it gets qualified for a real flight into space, the qualification of DPAC software, etc. For more information, visit the following link.

2011-10-24 Vacancy notice: Gaia postdoctoral position at MPIA (Heidelberg)
The MPIA has a vacancy for a postdoctoral researcher to work on preparations for the analysis and scientific exploitation of the Gaia data. The deadline for applications is 10 December 2011. For more information, visit the following web page.

2011-10-21 First Soyuz liftoff from the French Guiana
Soyuz lifts off successfully for the first time from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana with the same configuration as for the Gaia launch in 2013. This time, it has carried the first two Galileo In-Orbit Validation satellites. ESA press release can be found here.

2011-10-21 Vacancy notice: Java software engineer at the University of Barcelona
The Gaia team at the University of Barcelona (UB) has a vacant position for an engineer, preferably computer or telecom to develop and maintain software for simulations, massive processing and scientific data mining for the Gaia mission. Click here for more information.

2011-10-20 Vacancy notice: Scientific researcher/Software developer at Lohrmann Observatory, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
Lohrmann Observatory invites applications for a position to work in the field of astrometric solution for Gaia. Click here for more information. The evaluation of the applications will start on 16 November 2011, but later applications will be considered until a suitable candidate is identified.

2011-10-07 e2v celebrates the successful delivery of imaging sensors for Gaia
On Thursday 6th October, e2v was joined by representatives from the European Space Agency (ESA), Astrium SAS (the prime contractor for Gaia), key suppliers and local dignitaries for a celebration at their headquarters in Chelmsford, UK, to mark the successful delivery of over 150 e2v imaging sensors for Gaia. For more information, visit e2v and BBC pages.

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