In cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the T3 Foundation, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) and the Türkiye Space Agency (TUA), Türkiye’s first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı met with students at Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) and shared his spaceflight experiences. At the event, which attracted great interest, Gezeravcı gave important information about Türkiye’s space activities, future projects and his own space adventure.
The event, held at the HKU Congress and Culture Centre, was attended by HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, HKU Vice-Rectors Prof. Dr. Mehmet Lütfi Yola and Prof. Dr. Gül Rengin Küçükerdoğan, academics and students.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST MORE IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH TO STRENGTHEN TÜRKİYE’S PLACE IN SPACE
HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, who spoke at the opening of the programme and noted that Alper Gezeravcı sharing Türkiye’s vision in the field of space with the students was a great source of motivation, said: “We are the children of a nation that has dreamed big in the fields of aviation and space throughout history. This journey, which extends from Vecihi Hürkuş to Nuri Demirağ, from visionary engineers such as Selçuk Bayraktar to projects such as KAAN, ANKA and Bayraktar KIZILELMA that soar in our skies today, is an indication of our faith in the future. Mr. Alper Gezeravcı, who went to space as Türkiye’s first astronaut, has opened the way for future generations by saying, “This is only a beginning.” We now know that for Turkish youth, space is no longer a dream but a goal that can be reached through scientific work. As a university, we are taking important steps to contribute to our country’s goals in aviation and space. Our Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences admitted its first students in September 2022 and began its educational life with the mission of training the aviation, space and defence industry engineers of the future. The projects we carry out with TUSAŞ, TEI and defence industry organisations enable our students to take part in real R&D processes. To strengthen Türkiye’s place in space, we will continue to invest more in science, technology and research.”
STRONG INTEREST FROM STUDENTS
Welcomed with great interest by the students at the event, Alper Gezeravcı gave a presentation in which he described the Turkish National Space Programme and the first crewed space mission.
In his presentation, Gezeravcı spoke about the point our country has reached in space research with its national technology initiative and said, ” The space journey of the Republic of Türkiye was planned to inspire young generations and equip them with self-confidence. The students here today are the true owners of this process. This is only a beginning; there are greater goals ahead of us. Dream without fear, be brave and never give up! In fact, we were not a country foreign to space. In our history, there are many great figures who left their mark on the history of space, such as Farghani, Ali Kuşçu and Al-Jazari, and many valuable names among our ancestors who left their mark on our history. However, over time we had drifted somewhat away from this awareness. In the 41 years since the establishment of TÜBİTAK Space in 1984, we have been a country that has gained experience through the satellite projects it has carried out.”
THE SPACE JOURNEY AND SCIENTIFIC WORK
Gezeravcı also gave information about the scientific experiments he carried out during the space mission. Stating that as Türkiye’s first astronaut he carried out various scientific experiments on the International Space Station, Gezeravcı said that these experiments provided important data in fields such as biology, physics and materials science in the space environment. He emphasised that the 13 scientific experiments he carried out over 14 days on the Space Station contributed to Türkiye’s space research.
Answering questions from the students, Gezeravcı spoke about Türkiye’s first domestic and national communications satellite TÜRKSAT, the Moon Research Programme (AYAP-1), the Access to Space and Spaceport Project, the Turkish astronaut selection period, and astronaut training consisting of low-pressure training, centrifuge training, ISS training, SpaceX training, launch and landing training, module and experiment equipment, survival training, JAXA training and ESA training.
ANNOUNCED THE THEME OF THE NOW-TRADITIONAL GAME DEVELOPMENT MARATHON
HKU announced this year’s theme of the game development marathon that it traditionally organises every year to contribute to the development of the gaming and software sector and to train agile software developers. The theme of Ramajam 2025, which will be held during the month of Ramadan, was announced as “Space” by Türkiye’s first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı.
Mert Can Altun, a student of the Department of Radio, Television and Cinema at the HKU Faculty of Communication who has been diagnosed with SP+dystonia, presented his artwork created with artificial intelligence to Türkiye’s first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı.
At the end of the programme, which concluded with the exchange of plaques, Türkiye’s first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı paid a visit to HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli in his office.
