Türkiye has become the 71st country to sign the Artemis Accords on the peaceful exploration and use of outer space. Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır and Turkish Space Agency President Yusuf Kıraç represented Türkiye at the ceremony held at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters in Washington.
NASA Director Jared Isaacman and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and the Environment Connor Tomlinson represented the United States at the ceremony. Türkiye's Ambassador to Washington Sedat Önal and Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı also attended the signing ceremony.
Türkiye's space goals highlighted
In his speech at the ceremony, Mehmet Fatih Kacır highlighted the recent momentum in cooperation between Türkiye and the United States in space and aviation. Kacır said Türkiye had entered a new era in space travel with strong goals and capabilities.
Kacır said Türkiye's goal was to establish a sustainable presence in space and take steps toward the peaceful use of outer space for the benefit of all humanity. He said Türkiye had made progress in space and aviation through work on satellite technologies, the establishment of the Turkish Space Agency and initiatives such as TEKNOFEST.
Kacır also referred to the space efforts led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying Türkiye was carrying out multifaceted work to achieve the goals of its National Space Program.
2027 target for lunar mission
Speaking after the signing ceremony, Kacır said Türkiye's participation in the Artemis Accords was part of its space efforts in recent years. He said Türkiye plans to send a hybrid-powered spacecraft to the Moon in the first months of 2027, with the mission aimed at collecting data from lunar orbit and joining the countries that have reached the Moon.
Kacır also said Türkiye had begun building a spaceport in Somalia. He said the project was intended to strengthen Türkiye's position in the space economy and help it take more independent steps in space activities.
Kacır said Türkiye was also taking steps in human space exploration and that public awareness of aviation and space technologies was increasing.
U.S. message of cooperation
NASA Director Jared Isaacman said he was pleased that Türkiye had joined the Artemis Accords and that ties between the two countries had grown stronger. Isaacman said the signing was an important milestone and that Türkiye had presented a bold vision in space.
Isaacman said the United States and Türkiye shared a vision of sending astronauts back to the surface of the Moon. Connor Tomlinson also said they were pleased with Türkiye's participation in the accords and expected space cooperation between the two countries to continue growing.
NASA announced Türkiye's participation in the Artemis Accords as a commitment to the peaceful exploration of outer space and the expansion of prosperity in the field.
Scope of the Artemis Accords
Based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the Artemis Accords constitute a multilateral, nonbinding declaration of principles and rules for the responsible exploration of outer space.
The principles include registering space objects, preventing interference between activities, sharing scientific data and providing emergency assistance. Under the same framework, the United States envisions establishing a permanent base on the Moon, using the Moon as a stopover on journeys to Mars and extracting valuable minerals from the Moon.
The United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Italy, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates were the first countries to sign the accords on October 13, 2020.
