Türkiye’s first astronaut returns to Earth

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, on Feb. 9 returned Earth after successfully concluding his 18-day mission on the International Space Station.

The Space X Dragon capsule, carrying Gezeravcı and three other accompanying astronauts, carried out a splashdown off Daytona, Florida.

The astronauts are anticipated to be taken on board from the capsule's landing point and undergo initial examinations on the ship.

Subsequently, at NASA's center in Houston, a comprehensive health screening will be conducted for Gezeravcı, who will then undergo a period of quarantine.

The crew was originally scheduled to come home on Feb. 3, but SpaceX announced that the crew of four would spend additional days in space due to poor weather conditions this week in the recovery zone off Florida.

Upon his eagerly awaited return, Gezeravcı will visit schools and universities to share the findings of the experiments he performed in space with academicians and students.

Gezeravcı conducted 13 experiments in space during his two-week mission aboard the ISS.

A pilot in the Turkish Air Force for 15 years, Gezeravcı completed his undergraduate degree in electronic engineering at the Air Force Academy. After completing his master's degree at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Base, Gezeravcı piloted many aircraft, including the F-16, and worked as a captain pilot at Turkish Airlines for seven years.

"I didn't dream about space. The sky was my limit," Gezeravcı said, adding that only after seeing the news about the call for applications for Türkiye's first manned space project, he thought that he could undertake the task and decided to apply.