Turkey, which took steps for its activities in the field of space in 1985, established TÜBİTAK UZAY to meet its needs in this field through research and development. While it mainly carried out satellite studies, the first products with a space history designed and manufactured in Turkey came from this institution.
Türkiye established the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) on December 13, 2018. While this step adds dimension to space studies in line with the policies announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the National Space Program is consolidated to prepare, implement and ensure coordination between cooperations.
“Look up at the sky and see the moon”
President Erdogan announced Turkey's national space program on February 9, 2021 with the slogan: “If you want to see the moon, look at the sky.”
Work continues on the program goal “First Contact with the Moon”. The goal is also to create a brand that can compete with the world in the field of new generation satellite development.
The main objectives include developing the country's regional positioning and timing system, providing access to space and establishing a spaceport, investing in the field of space weather or meteorology and increasing competence in this field.
The topics of the program include raising Turkey's level in astronomical observations and ground tracking of space objects, further developing the space industry economic system in the country and establishing a space technology development zone.
With this, Turkey is taking decisive steps towards its goal of gaining a share of the space economy, which has reached $600 billion and is expected to grow rapidly to $1 trillion.
First manned space mission
Among the 10 objectives set out in the programme, the first point was to “send a Turkish citizen into space”.
Speaking at TEKNOFEST, the world's largest aerospace and technology festival that started at Atatürk Airport at the end of April last year, President Erdoğan announced that Alper Gezeravcı was designated as the main passenger in space and Tuva Cihangir Atasever as the reserve passenger.
A collaboration was established with Axiom Space in the USA for the training and flight services of the “space traveler” who will carry out Turkey's first manned space mission. The training process of the astronauts was carried out in Houston, Texas, USA.
The space mission of Turkey's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı started on January 19. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Ax-3 crew, including Gezeravcı, to the ISS with the Crew Dragon spacecraft was launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of Turkey's first manned space flight.
Gezeravcı's first words in space were: “I would like to start this moment with the words of our great Atatürk when the first Turk entered space for Turkey's first manned space mission: The genius word of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey; The future is in the sky. happened.
The experiments were conducted in a microgravity environment
Gezeravcı, who conducted 13 scientific experiments during his stay on the International Space Station (ISS), took the first step for Turkey to conduct various researches in the microgravity environment.
Gezeravcı carried out 13 important experiments in space, which were prepared for the mission by various universities and research institutions and determined by TUA and TÜBİTAK Space Commission.
Experiments on a wide range of topics, from cancer to immune cells, from algae to propolis, also contributed to the scientific literature.
The country's ability to develop new generation materials for the space, aerospace and defense industries, make spacecraft propulsion systems more efficient, determine the carbon dioxide capture performance and oxygen production ability of microalgae species in a microgravity environment, and develop new treatments and preventive measures for diseases existing worldwide. Experiments such as studying the effect of propolis on bacteria in a microgravity environment are considered important in terms of benefits to the scientific world.
Second science mission on 8 June
Continuing its efforts to achieve the goals of the National Space Program, Turkey is now planning to travel from Tuva Cihangir Atasever to Alper Gezeravcı as part of the first manned space mission.
Atasever will conduct suborbital flights with Virgin Galactic and carry out seven different scientific experiments.
The flight of the second Turkish astronaut Atasever will be compared with that of Gezeravcı and the dynamics generated in the human body by the two journeys will be measured.
Atasever, who will have the opportunity to test various devices in a microgravity environment and uncover the changes that space flight with different dynamics has on human physiology, will also conduct a variety of experiments, including on human physiology, brain frequencies and radiation measurements.
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