The GaiaNIR mission: Future Space Astrometry in the Near Infrared

Our Galaxy contains many different types of stars and planets, interstellar gas and dust, and dark matter. These components are widely distributed in age, reflecting their formation history, and in space, reflecting their birth place and subsequent motion. Objects in the Galaxy move in a variety of orbits that are determined by the gravitational force, and have complex distributions of different stellar types, reflecting star formation and gas-accretion history. Understanding all these aspects in one coherent picture is being partially achieved by Gaia, which surveys around 1% of the Galaxy and is still ongoing today. However much more could be done by using Near InfraRed (NIR) light to peer through the dust and gas to reveal the hidden regions of the Galaxy.A new all-sky NIR astrometric mission will expand and improve on the science of Gaia using basic astrometry. NIR astrometry is crucial for penetrating obscured regions and for observing intrinsically red objects. The new mission is aimed at surveying around 12 billion stars in the Galaxy, revealing important new regions obscured by interstellar gas and dust while also improving on the accuracy of the previous results from Gaia. The mission will explore the Galaxy, particularly the very important hidden regions, to reveal nature's true complexity and beauty in action.In 2019 ESA announced the next planning cycle for their long term Science Programme, called Voyage 2050. The program called for White Papers outlining new ideas for future space mission themes. In June 2021 Voyage 2050 finally set sail, with ESA having chosen its future science mission themes. Our proposal on All-Sky Visible and Near Infrared Space Astrometry has been selected as one of two possible themes for a future Large category mission for ESA or as a Medium class mission with international partners. This talk will give an update on the science goals, the mission design and its current status.