Türkiye takes giant leap in plans to land on moon with homegrown spacecraft
Türkiye has accelerated its efforts within the scope of the nation's National Space Program as the spacecraft developed under the Lunar Research Program is scheduled to be completed and launched in 2026
Türkiye has accelerated its efforts within the scope of the country's National Space Program as it announced that the spacecraft developed as part of the Lunar Research Program is on track for completion and launch in 2026.
In 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had announced a 10-year plan for Türkiye's space program, the primary objective of which was to achieve a moon landing through international cooperation in 2023 to mark Türkiye's centennial, followed by an independent moon landing in 2028.
The first phase of the Lunar Research Program, known as AYAP-1 (Lunar Research Program Project 1), is designed to explore the moon from orbit and establish initial contact with its surface. The second phase, AYAP-2, aims to achieve a rover landing on the lunar surface using a soft landing technique.
As part of AYAP-1, mission operations will involve the development of a spacecraft capable of reaching the lunar orbit from Earth, collecting data from the moon, and achieving contact with its surface.
Source: Anadolu Agency
