Mark McCaughrean on Nostr: Although Gaia lasted years longer than originally planned, its life was always going ...

Although Gaia lasted years longer than originally planned, its life was always going to be limited – it uses a cold gas propellant to maintain its extremely precise spin rate as it scans the sky & that has nearly now run out.

There are no meaningful science operations to be done if the spin rate can’t be maintained, hence the end of mission.

For some insights into the tech tests yet to be done & how those may help deliver better calibration for Gaia’s data:

https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/technology-tests