Türkiye's first space traveler is set to blast off into orbit on Jan. 9 of the next year, a Turkish official announced on Thursday.
"Starting on Jan. 9, Col. Alper Gezeravci will take part in a space mission with Spanish, Italian, and Swedish astronauts," Turkish Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir said on X.
As part of Türkiye's first manned space mission, Gezeravci will stay at the international space station for 14 days and carry out 13 different scientific experiments.
This mission, organized by Axiom Space, an American privately funded space infrastructure developer, will take a Turkish citizen to the international space station for the first time, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported earlier.
After completing his electronics engineering education, Gezeravci had his master's degree in the United States and served as an F-16 pilot in the Turkish Air Force Command. Türkiye selected Gezeravci as the country's first prospective space traveler earlier this year during the technology event TEKNOFEST.