Gaia is a cornerstone mission in the science programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). The spacecraft construction was approved in 2006, following a study in which the original interferometric concept was changed to a direct-imaging approach. Both the spacecraft and the payload were built by European industry. The involvement of the scientific community focusses on data processing for which the international Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) was selected in 2007. Gaia was launched on 19 December 2013 and arrived at its operating point, the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth-Moon system, a few weeks later. The commissioning of the spacecraft and payload was completed on 19 July 2014. The nominal five-year mission started with four weeks of special, ecliptic-pole scanning and subsequently transferred into full-sky scanning mode. We recall the scientific goals of Gaia and give a description of the as-built spacecraft that is currently (mid-2016) being operated to achieve these goals. We pay special attention to the payload module, the performance of which is closely related to the scientific performance of the mission. We provide a summary of the commissioning activities and findings, followed by a description of the routine operational mode. We summarise scientific performance estimates on the basis of in-orbit operations. Several intermediate Gaia data releases are planned and the data can be retrieved from the Gaia Archive, which is available through the Gaia home page.

Context. At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. Aims. A summary of Gaia DR1 is presented along with illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Methods. The raw data collected by Gaia during the first 14 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into an astrometric and photometric catalogue. Results. Gaia DR1 consists of three components: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues -a realisation of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) -and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set, consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ∼3000 Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas yr −1 for the proper motions. A systematic component of ∼0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ∼94 000 Hipparcos stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas yr −1 . For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ∼10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ∼0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Conclusions. Gaia DR1 is an important milestone ahead of the next Gaia data release, which will feature five-parameter astrometry for all sources. Extensive validation shows that Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data.

Herschel-PACS measurements of the rotational R(0) and R(1) HD lines in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune are analyzed to derive a D/H ratio with improved precision for the two planets. The derivation of the D/H ratio also includes previous measurements of the R(2) line with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). The available spectroscopic line information of the three rotational transitions is discussed and applied in the radiative transfer calculations. The best simultaneous fit of all three lines requires only a minor departure from the Spitzer temperature profile of Uranus and a departure limited to 2K from the Voyager temperature profile of Neptune (each time around the tropopause). The resulting and remarkably similar D/H ratios for Uranus and Neptune are found to be (4.4 ± 0.4) × 10 −5 and (4.1 ± 0.4) × 10 −5 , respectively. Although the deuterium enrichment in the two atmospheres compared to the protosolar value is confirmed, it is found to be lower compared to previous analyses. Using interior models from the literature and assuming that complete mixing of the atmosphere and interior occured during the planets' history, we derive a D/H in protoplanetary ices between (5.75-7.0) × 10 −5 for Uranus and between (5.1-7.7) × 10 −5 for Neptune. Conversely, adopting a cometary D/H for the protoplanetary ices between (15-30) × 10 −5 , we constrain the interior models of the two planets to have an ice mass fraction of 14-32%, i.e., the two planets are rock-dominated.

The ice giants Uranus and Neptune are the least understood class of planets in our solar system but the most frequently observed type of exoplanets. Presumed to have a small rocky core, a deep interior comprising ∼70% heavy elements surrounded by a more dilute outer envelope of H 2 and He, Uranus and Neptune are fundamentally different from the better-explored gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. Because of the lack of dedicated exploration missions, our knowledge of the composition and atmospheric processes of these distant worlds is primarily derived from remote sensing from Earth-based observatories and space telescopes. As a result, Uranus's and Neptune's physical and atmospheric properties remain poorly constrained and their roles in the evolution of the Solar System not well understood. Exploration of an ice giant system is therefore a highpriority science objective as these systems (including the magnetosphere, satellites, rings, atmosphere, and interior) challenge our understanding of planetary formation and evolution. Here we describe the main scientific goals to be addressed by a future in situ exploration of an ice giant. An atmospheric entry probe targeting the 10-bar level, about 5 scale heights beneath the tropopause, would yield insight into two broad themes : i) the formation history of the ice giants and, in a broader extent, that of the Solar System, and ii) the processes at play in planetary atmospheres. The probe would descend under parachute to measure composition, structure, and dynamics, with data returned to Earth using a Carrier Relay Spacecraft as a relay station. In addition, possible mission concepts and partnerships are presented, and a strawman ice-giant probe payload is described. An ice-giant atmospheric probe could represent a significant ESA contribution to a future NASA ice-giant flagship mission.

Context. The CO(3-2) line has been observed in the atmosphere of Saturn. The CO(3-2) observation proves that an external source of CO exists in the stratosphere of the planet. Aims. We attempt to constrain the type and magnitude of the external source of CO in the atmosphere of Saturn, by observing the emission core of the CO(6-5) line. Methods. We observed the CO(6-5) line at the limbs of Saturn. We analysed the observations by means of a 1-D transport model of the atmosphere of Saturn, coupled with a radiative transfer model. Results. We obtained a high signal-to-noise ratio spectrum that confirms the existence of an external source of CO in the stratosphere of Saturn. We demonstrated that a cometary origin of CO is the most probable, an impact occurring 220 ± 30 years ago and depositing (2.1 ± 0.4) × 10 15 g of CO above 0.1 mbar. However, we cannot totally reject the possibility of CO originating (at least partially) in a steady source. Conclusions. Complete photochemical modelling of the oxygen compounds is required to determine realistic error bars of the inferred quantities and to conclude on the origin of CO.