Turkey sets its own Moon mission for early 2027 after engine tests pass

Turkey plans to launch its own lunar spacecraft in the first months of 2027, according to Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir. The country has completed all tests of a domestically developed hybrid rocket engine that will power the mission, he said. The project is meant to give Turkey space capabilities that only a handful of nations currently possess.

Speaking about the country's broader space ambitions, Kacir highlighted a series of completed satellite programs, including Türksat 6A, İMECE, BİLSAT, RASAT and Göktürk-2. Turkey is simultaneously building an equatorial spaceport in Somalia, which is expected to enable launches of its own satellites and spacecraft. A launch site close to the equator lets operators take advantage of the Earth's rotation speed, cutting the cost of placing payloads into orbit.

According to the minister, developing this infrastructure should eventually allow Turkey to build its own rockets and use them to launch domestic satellites. The country is also working on a national space ecosystem: a "space technopark" is planned at the Middle East Technical University (METU) to bring together companies and research institutions for technology development.

Ankara is also preparing international agreements covering the development and production of space systems, the minister added.