People and institute Involvement

Several dedicated teams are involved in ESA's Gaia mission. ESA, with the support of its prime contractor, Airbus DS, has designed, built and tested the satellite and its payload. The Agency also launched Gaia and operates the spacecraft. Scientists from ESA Member States have developed software for the acquisition and analysis of data, and will produce the final catalogue. The resulting mission data will be made available to the scientific community.

Find out more about the various people, institutes and teams involved in the mission:

DPAC: Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium

ESA: including Flight Operations team, Science Operations team, Project Scientist team and Mission Manager

Gaia Science Team (GST): advisory body, representing the scientific community

DPAC Executive body (DPACE): body overseeing DPAC activities in consultation with Coordination Unit and Data Processing Centre leaders

Project Office: responsible for the day-to-day management of the overall DPAC development and operations activities

Industry: supporting the technical preparations required for the mission. Responsible for construction, testing and delivery of the Gaia satellite to ESA