The Gaia Successor in 2021

Abstract: A new mission about twenty years after Gaia with similar astrometric performance would be important for all branches of astronomy. The two missions together would, e.g., give much more accurate motions of the common objects due to the large epoch difference. By adding a Near-InfraRed (NIR) capability to the new mission we will be able to peer into the obscured regions of the Galaxy and measure up to 10 or 12 billion new objects and reveal many new sciences in the process. ESA has now ranked the development of this mission so high that a launch about 2045 is quite probable. A brief history of the project is included.