Turkey’s inaugural astronaut, 44-year-old fighter pilot Alper Gezeravci, is set for a historic space mission on January 9 aboard a SpaceX rocket.
The Axiom-3 (Ax-3) mission will take him and three others to the International Space Station for approximately two weeks.
Turkey’s collaboration with Axiom Space, signed in 2022, aims to launch a citizen in conjunction with the country’s centenary celebrations. Gezeravci, a mission specialist with 15 years of flying experience, expressed his honor to be Turkey’s first astronaut, emphasizing the mission’s significance for national pride and unity after recent natural disasters.
Michael Lopez-Alegria, a Spanish-American, will command the international crew on this record-setting mission.
