Türkiye’s first astronaut could have “important tasks” after efficiently finishing an area mission, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan informed Alper Gezeravcı a day after he returned to Earth.
The SpceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Gezeravcı and three different members splashed down off the coast of Florida on Friday, finishing a return after an almost three-week keep on the International Space Station (ISS).
In a telephone name on Saturday, Erdoğan expressed hope that he would meet Gezeravcı in individual in Ankara to get extra particulars about his keep on the ISS.
“You could have essential duties any further,” the president informed Gezeravcı, thanking him for efficiently finishing the mission.
Gezeravcı stated this journey was “an inspiring duty” to Türkiye and future generations.
Türkiye turned the twenty second nation to achieve the ISS, he stated, including that his nation reached there “the fastest, from the beginning of the training to the execution of the mission at the ISS.”
Türkiye celebrated Gezeravcı’s launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 19 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A former fighter pilot and captain for Turkish Airlines (THY), he turned the primary individual from his nation to fly to area.
The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew docked on the ISS on Jan. 20. The spacecraft undocked final Wednesday for a visit again that lasted round 47 hours.
After preliminary security checks by SpaceX workers, the Dragon capsule was lifted onto a restoration vessel and its crew disembarked from the spacecraft.
On the ship, crew members took their first steps after roughly three weeks in non-gravity situations.
The crew traveled to Houston, Texas, the place they may stay below statement to finish the difference course of.
While in orbit, Gezeravcı and his three crewmates from Spain, Italy and Sweden carried out about 30 science experiments, studying extra in regards to the affect of microgravity on the human physique, advancing industrial processes, and extra. They additionally chatted with schoolchildren and officers from their international locations.
About half of the experiments have been carried out by Gezeravcı alone.
The mission was initially meant to final two weeks, however the return journey was delayed by a number of days owing to unhealthy climate, leading to an 18-day keep on the ISS.
Erdoğan stated after the crew landed that Türkiye would ship many extra folks to area.
The journey is a part of Türkiye’s bold 10-year area street map, unveiled in early 2021, together with missions to the moon and growing internationally viable satellite tv for pc techniques.
The program envisages working with different international locations to construct a spaceport and create a worldwide satellite tv for pc expertise model.
Gezeravcı’s journey is all however certain to contribute to scientific literature, boosting the Turkish folks’s curiosity in area.
In his first remarks after the launch, Gezeravcı stated: “The future is in the skies,” reciting the phrases of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of the Republic of Türkiye.
“As Türkiye, we are experiencing the joy of taking a step toward a first in our history. We are eager to contribute to the science and research conducted here,” he added.
Experiments at ISS
As quickly as Gezeravcı arrived on the ISS as a low Earth orbit laboratory, he transferred experiment setups from the Dragon capsule to pre-experiment storage positions.
Then he noticed reactions of varied microgravity experiments, starting from most cancers to immune cells and from algae to propolis.
He efficiently carried out 13 experiments ready by the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) and TÜBITAK Space Commission.
Gezeravcı’s experiments carried out over 14 days, had definitions of phrases for simpler understanding shared every day on the Turkish Space Agency’s (TUA) social media accounts.
Links with Türkiye
Gezeravcı answered public questions, particularly from younger folks, about area and defined scientific analysis via dwell connections with Earth.
His first contact was with Erdoğan, to whom he expressed satisfaction in representing Türkiye on the ISS and expressed hope for Turkish youth.
“You have become an inspiration to our entire nation,” Erdoğan stated.
“For years, space has been considered a dream belonging to other nations, and by turning this dream into reality, you have given many Turkish youth, including myself, the gift of hope,” Gezeravcı informed the president.
During his keep on the ISS, Gezeravcı wished each citizen of Türkiye to “draw inspiration” from his journey, creating “hope for the future.”
He met with college students from numerous cities and answered journalists’ questions via a dwell connection.
He highlighted essential qualities of an astronaut: composure, schooling, language abilities, flight expertise, bodily and psychological well being, endurance, perseverance and fervour.
Gezeravcı emphasised the significance of faculty classes for future astronauts of Türkiye.
Ahead of his return, he expressed gratitude for the journey.
“This was the starting point of a story, not the destination. May our journey ahead be auspicious for our entire nation,” Gezeravcı stated.
Source: www.dailysabah.com