Soyuz VS06, with Gaia space observatory, lifted off from Europe's Spaceport, French Guiana, on Dec. 29, 2013, as seen in this spectacular space wallpaper. ESA’s Gaia mission will produce an unprecedented 3D map of our galaxy by mapping, with exquisite precision, the position and motion of a billion stars. This image was released Dec. 19, 2013.
Targeting 1 Billion Stars | Space Wallpaper
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.
