The selective turnover of mitochondria via autophagy, known as mitophagy, is a major quality control mechanism safeguarding eukaryotic cells, including highly specialized neurons in the mammalian brain. A new resource by Rappe et al (2024) now provides a spatiotemporal landscape of mitophagy changes during mouse brain aging at unprecedented resolution, encompassing different cell types and subregions, and revealing unanticipated, context-specific dynamics.