Funding of Gaia activities in the UK

The Gaia spacecraft and operations are funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).  ESA itself is funded by its national members, which includes the UK. UK participation in ESA is managed by the UK Space Agency. UK participation in Gaia data processing and analysis activities is supported by the relevant national UK Research Council. Initially this was the Science and Engineering Research Council, continuing after agency reorganisation (in 1994) with the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, which became in 2007 the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). STFC continues to support activities in the UK directly related to the scientific research aspects of Gaia science. In 2010 mission aspects of UK support (data processing and analysis, data centre operation, science alerts detection and publication) were subsumed by the then-new UK Space Agency. In addition some UK science and public outreach activities have been partially supported by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013).