The European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia space telescope took 12 years to create the largest 3D map of our Milky Way galaxy.. On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, he stopped his space exploration. But scientists plan to provide processed telescope data over the next few years, which should lead to new discoveries, writes Space.

U Focus. Technologies has its own Telegram channel. Subscribe so you don't miss the latest and most exciting news from the world of science!

The shutdown of the Gaia space telescope is due to the fact that it has run out of cold gas fuel used to rotate. The telescope has used approximately 12 grams of this fuel per day since its launch into space on December 19, 2013.. According to scientists from ESA, the Gaia mission does not end there, as the collection and processing of the data obtained continues..

Since its inception, the Gaia telescope has studied nearly 2 billion stars and other objects in and around the Milky Way.. In particular, the telescope obtained information about the movement of stars, their luminosity, temperature and composition. The main goal of the space telescope was to create the largest and most accurate three-dimensional map of the Milky Way.. Gaia's first data release took place on September 14, 2016, the second on April 25, 2018, and the third on June 13, 2022.. ESA scientists are now preparing a fourth data release, expected before mid-2026. Scientists believe this data release, based on 5.5 years of observations, should surpass the previous release in terms of volume and quality of data..

Scientists will then begin processing 10.5 years of data to create a fifth data release, expected later this decade.. Scientists say that all the data obtained by the telescope will not be finally presented until sometime in the 2030s.. This means that astronomers will be making new discoveries in the Milky Way for many years to come based on this information..

The Gaia telescope will now become a test site for scientists seeking to improve the control of spacecraft and instruments in space.. These tests will take place over several weeks while Gaia remains at a gravitationally stable point between the Earth and the Sun, known as the L2 Lagrange point.

Once the Gaia telescope leaves L2 and its current orbit, it will be placed in an orbit that will keep it away from the Earth-Moon system in the near future. In March or April 2025, the Gaia telescope will move to its final orbit away from Earth's sphere of influence, which will prevent it from interfering with other spacecraft..

As Focus already wrote, astronomers have discovered a strange star that should not exist. A discovered neutron star is behaving so strangely that it could change our understanding of these super-dense objects that remain after the death of massive stars..

Focus also wrote that scientists were able to explain what strange small red objects in the early Universe are, which have puzzled astronomers for several years.