Turkey successfully tests boosting system for moon mission
Turkey’s moon mission AYAP-1 successfully tested its hybrid boosting system (HIS), the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) said Wednesday.
The boosting system was developed by the Turkish company DeltaV Space Technologies.
Turkey plans to send a rover to the moon by the end of the decade using DeltaV’s rocket engine that will first fly to the moon in a test mission in 2023.
The mission is part of a wider space program revealed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in February 2021.
The 10-year space road map includes missions to the moon, sending Turkish astronauts to a scientific mission in space and developing internationally viable satellite systems.
Erdoğan said at the time that the National Space Program, which includes 10 strategic goals, is part of his vision for making Turkey an expanded regional and global player.
Turkey established the TUA in 2018 with the aim of joining the handful of other countries with space programs.
