| Issue |
EAS Publications Series
Volume 2, 2002
GAIA: A European Space Project
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 69 - 90 | |
| Section | Section I: GAIA: Unprecedented Performance | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/eas:2002007 | |
| Published online | 25 September 2002 | |
O. Bienaymé and C. Turon (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 2 (2002) 69-90
Space Astrometry Missions
1
OCA/CERGA, avenue Copernic, 06130 Grasse, France
2
Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Mönchhofstr. 14,
69120 Heidelberg, Germany
The successful hipparcos mission has brought, and proved the validity of, a new observational concept to achieve absolute measurements of star positions in space. Only five years after the final publication of the results there are now four astrometry missions scheduled for the next decade, three of which appearing as the natural heirs of this pioneering mission. Space astrometry missions share a certain number of common features imposed by their observational principles and their scientific goals. The first part of this paper attempts to show how the objectives put severe constraints on the design and that this can be investigated with a fairly general approach. The German mission diva is then detailed as an illustration (gaia being considered elsewhere in this volume). In the last section few words are added about fame and sim followed by global comparisons of these missions and their scientific returns.
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2002