On January 18, 2025, the anniversary of the day Alper Gezeravcı went into space, we attended the premiere of the documentary “Beyond the Horizon” and the exhibition “Türkiye’s First Manned Space Mission” at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul.
Organized in cooperation with the Presidency, the Ministry of Industry and Technology, TÜBİTAK, the Turkish Space Agency, and TÜBİTAK UZAY, the event was attended by Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın, politicians, space and technology experts, scientists, university students, members of the press, as well as Institute Director Mehmet Nefes, Deputy Institute Director Gökhan Bilgili, Turkish Astronaut and Science Mission Project Manager Ömer Ataş from TÜBİTAK UZAY, and staff members from our Institute who wished to participate in the event.
Before the documentary’s premiere screening, the exhibition “Türkiye’s First Manned Space Mission” took place at AKM, where various equipment, photographs, interactive displays, and video presentations highlighted Türkiye’s advancements in space technologies and captured important moments from the Turkish Astronaut and Science Mission.
In his speech at the gala following the exhibition, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that Türkiye has become an ambitious country in the space race, expressed excitement about pursuing even greater goals, and voiced his belief that the young people following this mission will achieve much more. Reiterating that Türkiye aims to realize the Moon project and become one of the few countries in this field, Kacır said they are working on developing the necessary technologies for manned space programs and plan to conduct launches with entirely domestic rockets in the future.
Also in attendance were Alper Gezeravcı, Türkiye’s first astronaut, and Tuva Cihangir Atasever, the second Turkish astronaut to perform a suborbital flight. Gezeravcı noted that by venturing into space for the first time during the 100th anniversary of the Republic, they successfully carried out a mission that inspires younger generations to explore the depths of space.
The documentary “Beyond the Horizon (Ufkun Ötesinde)” can be viewed on digital platforms such as Tabii, D-SMART, TV+, tivibu, and GAIN.
