On April 30, 2023, all nominal operations of Aeolus, the first mission to observe Earth’s wind profiles on a global scale, will conclude in preparation for a series of end-of-life activities.
Although a recent upgrade to Aeolus’ onboard laser instrument meant that in its last months it has been performing as well as ever, diminishing fuel combined with increasing solar activity means the mission must come to an end.
That ESA’s wind mission has made it this far is a great achievement, having outlived its predicted lifetime of three years by over 18 months.
Image Credit: ESA/ATG medialab
