Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GAIA Mission
Why in the News?
The European Space Agency (ESA) officially shut down its Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA) Mission, which had been operational for over a decade.
About the GAIA Mission
- It was launched in December 2013 with the primary goal to create the most accurate three-dimensional map of the Milky Way galaxy.
- It sought to measure the positions, distances, and movements of stars and other celestial bodies.
- Gaia was designed for astrometry, focusing on precise measurements of celestial object locations and motions.
- Positioned at Lagrange Point 2 (L2), 1.5 million kilometres behind Earth (as viewed from the Sun), Gaia was able to observe the universe without interference from Earth, the Sun, or the Moon.
- Gaia was equipped with two telescopes and a camera with nearly 1 billion pixels, the largest camera ever sent to space. Key instruments include:
- Astrometer: Measured the location and motion of stars.
- Photometer: Measured brightness of celestial objects.
- Spectrometer: Analyzed the composition and movement of stars.
- Discoveries and Achievements:
- Gaia mapped the Milky Way in 3D, uncovering its shape, structure, and movement. It also detected warping and wobbling in the galaxy.
- Gaia identified new types of black holes by observing their gravitational effects and tracked over 150,000 asteroids, contributing insights on their orbits and future impacts on Earth.
- Additionally, it provided new understanding of stellar evolution and the formation of stars, including the Sun.
- Gaia accumulated over 3 trillion observations, contributing to more than 13,000 scientific papers, revolutionizing knowledge about the Milky Way, the solar system, and galactic dynamics.
Why is Gaia being Decommissioned?
- After more than a decade of operations, the Gaia mission reached the end of its operational lifespan, making it unsustainable to continue its activities.
- After over 10 years in space, Gaia’s technology showed signs of wear, and continuing operations became unfeasible.
- On March 27, 2025, Gaia was successfully passivated, draining all internal energy sources. This means it can no longer be restarted or resumed for future operations.
| [UPSC 2023] Consider the following pairs: Objects in space Description
1. Cepheids : Giant clouds of dust and gas in space 2. Nebulae : Stars which brighten and dim periodically 3. Pulsars : Neutron stars that are formed when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse How many of the above pairs are correctly matched? (a)Only one (b) Only two (c)All three (d) None |
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