Industry Minister Kacır: Turkey's Lunar Vehicle to Launch in Early 2027

Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır announced on August 13, at the 28th TÜBİTAK Sky Observation Event held at Emre Lake in Afyonkarahisar, that Turkey's lunar vehicle — equipped with its own hybrid propulsion rocket system — will be launched into space in the early months of 2027 and that the launch timeline has been finalized. All tests have been completed successfully, according to information provided at the event.

Kacır noted that ROKETSAN, TÜBİTAK SAGE, and Delta V played critical roles in the development process, and emphasized that Turkey — having built a track record in satellite technologies with BİLSAT, RASAT, GÖKTÜRK-2, Türksat 6A, and İMECE — is now setting its sights on deep-space objectives.

The first phase of Turkey's National Space Program, announced in 2021, had envisioned only an orbital mission to the Moon; the fact that the 2027 launch will include a landing attempt signals that the program is gaining significant momentum. The minister also noted that work is ongoing to establish an independent spaceport.