Turkish Lunar Mission: An astonishing advancement towards space, science and technology I
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Dr. Syed Mehboob
Senior Research Editor, The News Lark
Political and economic analyst
Brother country Türkiye’s economic and social advancement under the visionary, able, sincere and far-sighted leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is wonderful, and now there is another wonderful achievement which is good news for the whole Muslim ummah and the developing world: that Türkiye is advancing towards the moon.
Türkiye has completed the production, assembly and integration of the spacecraft being developed for the country’s first Moon mission. This good and exciting news was shared with the media by Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Faith. The spacecraft has been sent to the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Space Systems Integration and Test Center for system-level environmental testing. The approximately 3.5-ton spacecraft is planned to launch in the first months of 2027, and is expected to reach a polar, circular orbit about 100 kilometers above the Moon's surface after a journey of roughly two months. The spacecraft is initially scheduled to operate for at least three months, with the mission potentially extended to up to eighteen months depending on performance.
During the mission, the spacecraft will study the interaction of solar winds with the lunar surface, the mechanisms behind the formation of water on the Moon, the Moon's magnetic fields and the thermal properties of its surface. It will also conduct radiation measurements using scientific equipment developed domestically.
Following completion of the scientific mission, Türkiye plans to guide the spacecraft toward the lunar surface through controlled deceleration maneuvers.
A domestically developed hybrid propulsion system will be one of the key components of the mission. The system will be used for orbit-raising maneuvers as well as the final firing sequence to leave lunar orbit and approach the Moon's surface. As part of this mission, the hybrid propulsion system, which Türkiye developed and manufactured entirely with domestic and national resources, will be fired in deep space for the first time in history.
The spacecraft was produced with a domestic content rate of more than 80%, drawing on capabilities developed through Türkiye's previous satellite programs, including the Imece earth observation satellite and Türksat 6A. These capabilities include flight computers, communications, power systems, thermal control and orbital operations.
The production, assembly, and integration work on our spacecraft, which is the product of the knowledge accumulated over the years in satellite technologies, has been completed.
The upcoming testing campaign will assess the spacecraft's ability to withstand the conditions it will encounter during launch and in space. Thermal vacuum tests will simulate the space environment, structural tests will assess its resilience to launch conditions, and electromagnetic compatibility tests will verify that its systems can operate safely and compatibly with one another.
Once the tests are completed, the spacecraft will be transferred to a new clean room and integration facility under construction at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK) Space's Middle East Technical University (METU) campus in Ankara. Following final checks, it will be sent to Kennedy Space Center in the United States for launch.
The Moon Research Program has reached a completion rate of 77% since its launch in early 2022. TÜBITAK UZAY, DeltaV firm and other domestic technology companies and startups have contributed to the spacecraft's development and production.
Türkiye was seeking to turn space technologies into a driver of national development as the sector becomes increasingly important not only for scientific exploration but also for technological competitiveness, economic growth and strategic independence. The government has also begun work on the Türksat 7A satellite, which is expected to provide high-speed data transmission and flexible coverage, including capabilities for disaster communications, public services and secure communications.
Türkiye is also developing the Imece-2 and Imece-3 next-generation satellite constellation to enable wider-area imaging and more frequent data collection over the same locations. Türkiye is continuing efforts to establish a space technology development zone in Ankara in cooperation with the Turkish Space Agency (TUA), TÜBITAK and the Middle East Technical University, with the aim of building an ecosystem in space similar to the one developed in the defense industry.
The spaceport under construction in Somalia would help provide Türkiye with independent access to space while allowing the country to capture a larger share of the growing global space economy. Türkiye joined the Artemis Accords on Aug. 31, committing to international cooperation on peaceful and sustainable civil space activities involving the Moon and other celestial bodies.
The country is also preparing to host the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya in early October, which is expected to bring nearly 10,000 participants from around the world.
Türkiye has rapidly transitioned from an end-user of space services into an autonomous space-faring nation through its Turkish Space Agency (TUA), launched satellites like İMECE and Türksat 6A, and expanded international partnerships.
Satellite Development: Produced the indigenous İMECE Earth-observation satellite and the Türksat 6A communications satellite (which features over 80% domestic production). Its first national astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024 to perform scientific experiments.
TÜRKSAT 6A is Türkiye’s first fully domestic and national communication satellite. It was developed through a collaboration between TUSAŞ, ASELSAN, and CTech under the project management of TÜBİTAK UZAY. With a launch mass of approximately 4.2 tons and a 16-year operational lifespan, the satellite operates in a geostationary orbit at 42° East. TÜRKSAT 6A provides communication and broadcasting services covering large parts of Türkiye, Europe, Asia, and Africa, featuring more than 20 transponders across multiple frequency bands. The project was launched into space on 9 July 2024 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and was commissioned into service in April 2025. All operational processes are conducted via the domestic mission control software platform TStar-GO developed by TÜBİTAK UZAY.
The TÜRKSAT 6A project was initiated in 2014 with the goal of developing Türkiye’s first fully domestic communication satellite. The “TÜRKSAT-6A National Communication Satellite Project Agreement and Additional Protocol” was signed in the same year by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, TÜBİTAK, and TÜRKSAT. By 2017, design and engineering work had reached completion, and production of qualification test models of the satellite had begun.
Between 2018 and 2022, the engineering model, thermal-structural qualification model, electrical-electronic model, and flight model were developed, and system-level tests were successfully conducted. In 2023, the integration process was completed, and launch preparations were planned to be carried out using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
TÜRKSAT 6A was launched into space on 9 July 2024 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, and conducted its first test broadcast on 17 February 2025. Following the completion of all system tests, it was officially commissioned on 21 April 2025 in a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The TÜRKSAT 6A project was executed under TÜBİTAK’s 1007 Public Institution Research and Development Projects Support Program. It was funded by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and TÜBİTAK, with TÜRKSAT A.Ş. serving as the end-user institution. The satellite was developed through collaboration between TÜBİTAK UZAY, TUSAŞ, ASELSAN, and CTech. ( Continued ) .
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