Türkiye has completed the production, assembly and integration of the spacecraft being developed for the country's first Moon mission, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said Monday.
The spacecraft has been sent to the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Space Systems Integration and Test Center for system-level environmental testing, Kacır said at a press briefing.
Türkiye aims to become the ninth country to carry out a Moon mission with its own engineering capabilities, Kacır said.
The approximately 3.5-ton spacecraft is planned to launch in the first months of 2027 and is expected to reach a polar, circular orbit about 100 kilometers above the Moon's surface after a journey of roughly two months.
The spacecraft is initially scheduled to operate for at least three months, Kacır said, with the mission potentially extended to up to 18 months depending on performance.
During the mission, the spacecraft will study the interaction of solar winds with the lunar surface, the mechanisms behind the formation of water on the Moon, the Moon's magnetic fields and the thermal properties of its surface. It will also conduct radiation measurements using scientific equipment developed domestically.
Following completion of the scientific mission, Kacır said Türkiye plans to guide the spacecraft toward the lunar surface through controlled deceleration maneuvers.
A domestically developed hybrid propulsion system will be one of the key components of the mission, according to the minister. The system will be used for orbit-raising maneuvers as well as the final firing sequence to leave lunar orbit and approach the Moon's surface.
More than 80% domestic content
The spacecraft was produced with a domestic content rate of more than 80%, drawing on capabilities developed through Türkiye's previous satellite programs, including the Imece earth observation satellite and Türksat 6A.
These capabilities include flight computers, communications, power systems, thermal control and orbital operations.
"The production, assembly and integration work on our spacecraft, which is the product of the knowledge accumulated over the years in satellite technologies, has been completed," Kacır said.
The upcoming testing campaign will assess the spacecraft's ability to withstand the conditions it will encounter during launch and in space. Thermal vacuum tests will simulate the space environment, structural tests will assess its resilience to launch conditions, and electromagnetic compatibility tests will verify that its systems can operate safely and compatibly with one another, Kacır said.
Once the tests are completed, the spacecraft will be transferred to a new clean room and integration facility under construction at the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK) Space's Middle East Technical University (METU) campus in Ankara.
Following final checks, it will be sent to Kennedy Space Center in the United States for launch, said Kacır.
Kacır said the Moon Research Program had reached a completion rate of 77% since its launch in early 2022. TÜBITAK UZAY, DeltaV firm and other domestic technology companies and startups have contributed to the spacecraft's development and production.
Space ambitions
Kacır said Türkiye was seeking to turn space technologies into a driver of national development as the sector becomes increasingly important not only for scientific exploration but also for technological competitiveness, economic growth and strategic independence.
The government has also begun work on the Türksat 7A satellite, which is expected to provide high-speed data transmission and flexible coverage, including capabilities for disaster communications, public services and secure communications.
Türkiye is also developing the Imece-2 and Imece-3 next-generation satellite constellation to enable wider-area imaging and more frequent data collection over the same locations.
Kacır said Türkiye was continuing efforts to establish a space technology development zone in Ankara in cooperation with the Turkish Space Agency (TUA), TÜBITAK and the Middle East Technical University, with the aim of building an ecosystem in space similar to the one developed in the defense industry.
He also pointed to the spaceport under construction in Somalia, saying it would help provide Türkiye with independent access to space while allowing the country to capture a larger share of the growing global space economy.
Türkiye joined the Artemis Accords on Aug. 31, committing to international cooperation on peaceful and sustainable civil space activities involving the Moon and other celestial bodies.
The country is also preparing to host the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya in early October, which Kacır said is expected to bring nearly 10,000 participants from around the world.