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Türkiye plans to launch its first lunar spacecraft in early 2027, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir said, as the vehicle developed under the country's first moon mission enters a critical testing phase.
"We are sending our lunar spacecraft, having completed production, assembly and integration activities, to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for system-level environmental testing. We plan to launch it into space in the early months of 2027," Kacir said.
The roughly 3.5-ton spacecraft, developed with more than 80% domestic content, will undergo a series of tests at TAI's Space Systems Integration and Test Center, including thermal vacuum testing to assess its resilience to the space environment, structural testing to verify it can withstand launch conditions, and electromagnetic compatibility testing to confirm its systems can operate safely together.
After testing at TAI concludes, the spacecraft will move to a new cleanroom facility operated by the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Institution (Tubitak) Space for final inspections, before being sent to the Kennedy Space Center in the United States for launch.
Kacir said the spacecraft will operate in a north-south lunar orbit at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles) before completing its orbital mission and being brought down to the moon's surface in a controlled landing.
The spacecraft is expected to take about two months to reach lunar orbit after launch.
The mission could be extended up to 1.5 years, depending on performance, during which Turkish scientists will study the interaction between solar winds and the lunar surface, the mechanisms behind water formation on the moon, the moon's magnetic fields and surface characteristics, and take radiation-environment measurements using domestically developed equipment.
If successful, Türkiye would become the ninth country to complete a lunar mission.
The Lunar Research Program, launched in early 2022, is 77% complete, Kacir said, describing the mission as Türkiye's first venture into deep space and one of the National Space Program's core goals.
Experience from the Imece and Turksat 6A satellite projects was carried over into the lunar spacecraft's development, with domestic capabilities used for the flight computer, communications, power, thermal control, and attitude and orbit operations systems.
Tubitak Space and Delta V, along with domestic technology firms and startups, are participating in the project, which has drawn contributions from about 2,000 engineers, researchers and technical personnel, Kacir said.
A hybrid propulsion system developed in Türkiye will be used for orbit-raising maneuvers and the final burns needed to exit lunar orbit at the mission's conclusion.
Kacir said the system's successful operation would represent an important technological capability for Türkiye's future deep-space missions.
Development has also begun on the Turksat 7A communications satellite, alongside design phases of the Imece-2 and Imece-3 Earth observation satellite constellations.
Türkiye's spaceport under construction in Somalia, on the Horn of Africa, is intended to provide the country with independent access to space. Work is also underway on a space technology development zone in Ankara, the country's capital, through cooperation between the Turkish Space Agency, Tubitak and the Middle East Technical University (METU).
Türkiye joined the Artemis Accords in a ceremony held at NASA headquarters. Kacir said the country aims to build a space-sector ecosystem similar to that of its defense industry.
Antalya, a city on Türkiye's southwestern Mediterranean coast, will host the 77th International Astronautical Congress from Oct. 5 to 9, with nearly 10,000 participants expected.
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