The Milky Way, our galaxy, is continuously interacting with its neighbouring galaxies exerting mutual forces or swallowing the smallest ones. How is it done? Is this process finished? What is the future of the Milky Way? Gaia space mission of the European Space Agency aims to answer these questions. To do this,it has been published the first 3D map with 1300 million stars of the Milky Way. Positions and movements allow us to reconstruct the history of the Milky Way.

By Carme Jordi Nebot, PhD in Physics from University of Barcelona, Professor of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics Department of the UB and member of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia. He has participated in space missions such as Hipparcos and INTEGRAL and is currently fully involved in the Gaia project. He is a member of the Gaia Science Team, the advisory body of the European Space Agency (ESA)