On Monday, August 31, 2026, the Republic of Türkiye officially signed the Artemis Accords during a ceremony held at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., becoming the 71st nation to join the U.S.-led international space governance framework.
The agreement establishes common principles for peaceful, transparent, and cooperative civil exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
National Space Program and Exploratory Heritage
The signing aligns Türkiye’s expanding civil space ambitions with international space law norms based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Under its National Space Program, managed by the Turkish Space Agency (TUA), the country has accelerated human spaceflight and deep-space infrastructure projects.
Türkiye’s recent milestones include astronaut Alper Gezeravcı’s 18-day research mission to the International Space Station in early 2024, followed by researcher Tuva Atasever’s suborbital flight. Concurrently, the country began construction of an equatorial spaceport in Somalia to secure sovereign orbital launch capabilities for Low Earth Orbit and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellites.
Lunar Mission Architecture and Spacecraft Specifications
Joining the Artemis Accords directly supports Türkiye’s flagship Lunar Research Program (AYAP). The primary mission, AYAP-1, targets sending an indigenously developed, hybrid-propelled spacecraft to execute an orbital and hard-landing mission on the Moon.
Key technical aspects of the lunar mission include:
- Spacecraft Integration: Designed and developed by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute (TÜBİTAK UZAY) under TUA direction.
- Communication Systems: Features an S-Band Tracking, Telemetry, and Command (TT&C) transponder supplied via contract with Thales Alenia Space to maintain continuous ground station data links.
- Propulsion System: Utilizes a hybrid-fuel rocket engine engineered domestically to perform lunar orbit insertion and surface trajectory maneuvers.
Executive Leadership Viewpoints
The agreement was executed by Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, alongside TUA President Yusuf Kıraç and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“Türkiye enters this era of space travel with incredible ambitions and capabilities,” said Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology. “Our aim is to establish a sustainable presence in space and advance the peaceful use of space for the benefit of all humanity.”
“Today marks an important milestone. Türkiye brings a bold vision to this,” stated Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator.
Next Milestones and International Roadmap
The Artemis Accords signature precedes Türkiye hosting the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026) in Antalya from October 5–9, 2026. The Global gathering, organized by the IAF and hosted by TUA under the theme “The World Needs More Space,” will bring together international space agency leaders and commercial operators to advance interoperability and lunar exploration guidelines.
