Charting a three-dimensional map of our Galaxy and contributing to a database of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects

ESA’s GAIA satellite has the ambitious mission of charting a three-dimensional map of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Because of its unprecedented sensitivity to faint, moving objects, GAIA is contributing to the search for asteroids and comets traversing the Solar System, including those with the potential to strike Earth – near-Earth objects (NEO). It is expected that over the course of the mission the spacecraft will detect hundreds of thousands of minor planets, some known and some new discoveries. Some of these will be near-Earth objects, others will live in the 'main-belt' of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, yet more will be located in the icy realms of the outer Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt. Data from GAIA will help scientists monitor the threat and risk posed by rocky bodies in the Solar System, improving the chances of mitigating risk from impact, and even providing key information required to potentially divert the course of risky bodies.