Alper Gezaravci returns to earth as he completes his mission on ISS

Turkish Air Force pilot Col. Alper Gezeravci, who had spent about three weeks in orbit aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule, landed back on Earth on Friday. As the Ax-3 crew; Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, Michael Lopez-Alegria, and Gezeravci, came to the surface, their space mission was successfully completed.

After the Dragon capsule, which had been docked at the International Space Station since Jan. 20, undocked on Wednesday, Feb. 7, Gezeravci and his crewmates started their return trip. The capsule started its journey down to Earth after leaving the International Space Station, landing off the coast of Florida around 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Their term on board the ISS included more than 30 scientific experiments, highlighting Türkiye's increasing role in space exploration. Despite several postponements of the return due to bad weather, the crew's safe return marks the first completed achievement in Türkiye's blossoming space program.

Col. Alper Gezeravci stepped back onto solid ground, carrying the voyage experience and the potentiality of future Turkish space explorations. 

Source: Anadolu Agency