2024-07-17 Double trouble: Gaia hit by micrometeoroid and solar storm

Launched in December 2013, ESA’s Gaia spacecraft is on a mission to map the locations and motions of more than a billion stars in the Milky Way with extreme precision. But it’s not easy being a satellite: space is a dangerous place. In recent months, hyper-velocity space dust and the strongest solar storm in 20 years have threatened Gaia’s ability to carry out the precise measurements for which it is famous.

Find the full story published by ESA Enabling & Support here: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Double_trouble_Gaia_hit_by_micrometeoroid_and_solar_storm