ELSA – training the next generation of space astrometrists

Abstract ELSA (European Leadership in Space Astrometry) is an EU-funded research project 2006–2010, contributing to the scientific preparations for the Gaia mission while training young researchers in space astrometry and related subjects. Nine postgraduate (PhD) students and five postdocs have been recruited to the network. Their research focuses on the principles of global astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic measurements from space, instrument modelling and calibration, and numerical analysis tools and data processing methods relevant for Gaia.