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The European Space Agency's spacecraft Gaia was launched with the goal of constructing the largest and most precise star catalogue ever made.
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European Space Agency
European organisation dedicated to space exploration
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European integration. Its 2025 annual budget…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Gaia (spacecraft)
European optical space observatory for astrometry
Gaia was a space observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA) that was launched in 2013 and operated until March 2025. The spacecraft was designed for astrometry: measuring the positions, distances and motions of stars with unprecedented precision, and the positions of…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Star catalogue
Astronomical catalogue that lists stars and their positions in the sky
A star catalogue is an astronomical catalogue that lists stars. In astronomy, many stars are referred to simply by catalogue numbers. There are a great many different star catalogues which have been produced for different purposes over the years, and this article covers only…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)