The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) opened Monday in Antalya, bringing together space agencies, companies, and researchers from more than 100 countries.
The five-day event at the NEST Convention Centre in Antalya’s Mediterranean resort area of Belek is being hosted by the Turkish Space Agency and co-hosted by the SAHA İstanbul aerospace cluster.
This year’s congress, held under the theme “The World Needs More Space”, focuses on lunar and Martian exploration, satellite technologies, commercial launch services, artificial intelligence, space sustainability, and increasingly congested orbits.
Organisers say the event provides a forum for governments, researchers, and private companies to present new technologies, discuss international regulations, and explore potential partnerships.
The program includes technical sessions, exhibitions and meetings involving astronauts, engineers, entrepreneurs, and senior officials from leading space agencies.
A Global Space Leaders Summit on Tuesday is expected to bring together top representatives from more than 40 countries and organisations.
Participants are also discussing the rapid growth of commercial space activity and concerns surrounding orbital debris, military competition, and unequal access to space technology.
An “Antalya Declaration for Peace in Space” was signed during the opening program.
Organisers said it was intended to promote the peaceful, secure, and sustainable use of outer space, although details of specific or binding commitments were not immediately released.
Speaking later at the opening ceremony, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan highlighted the country's expanding national space program and said production, assembly, and integration of the country’s first lunar spacecraft had been completed.
The spacecraft weighs about 3.5 metric tons and has a domestic production rate exceeding 80 percent, Erdoğan said.
It is now undergoing environmental testing ahead of a targeted launch in early 2027, although Turkish authorities have not announced a finalised launch contract or window.
Erdoğan later met senior SpaceX executives Rebecca Hunter and Michael Nicolls.
Neither side announced an agreement following the talks.
Türkiye unveiled its National Space Program in 2021 and sent its first astronaut, Alper Gezeravci, to the International Space Station in 2024.
It has also placed Türksat 6A, its first domestically produced communications satellite, into service and joined the U.S.-led Artemis Accords.
The congress, being hosted in Türkiye for the first time, will continue through Friday.
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday...
South Korea is preparing a response to press North Korea into apologising for a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that seriously w...
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan held talks in Tehran on Monday on bilateral ties and efforts t...
Australian counterterrorism authorities are examining the links of the co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to take control of a flydubai flight bound for Israel. Authorities in New Zealand have also said they are investigating reports the suspect had spent time in that country.
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff of the presidential election later this month, after he exceeded expectations in Sunday's first-round vote with a slight lead over the incumbent.
Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, with Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), appointed as acting oil minister, according to Iranian state media.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the United States will 'help' Russia after a laboratory worker died at a plague research institute in Siberia.
Candidates elected to Bosnia and Herzegovina's three-member presidency declared victory after preliminary unofficial results showed Denis Becirovic leading the Bosniak seat, Darijana Filipovic ahead in the Croat seat and Zeljka Cvijanovic likely retaining the Serb seat.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye on Monday agreed at an emergency meeting in Riyadh to put their Mecca Joint Defence Agreement into practical effect, deciding to deploy agreed military forces and capabilities rapidly to the kingdom as Houthi attacks and a Saudi-backed offensive in Yemen continue.
Azerbaijan and Russia are stepping up efforts to expand the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), with their deputy prime ministers pressing for greater capacity and better logistics infrastructure.
Türkiye and Pakistan are to deploy military personnel to Saudi Arabia, after the three countries agreed to activate their joint defence pact in response to attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants.
Regional powers gathered in Moscow on Monday for talks on Afghanistan, focusing on security, economic cooperation and Kabul’s relations with its neighbours.
Four major German political foundations have halted their work in Georgia as tighter rules on foreign grants put pressure on a decades-old partnership and add to tensions between Tbilisi and its European partners.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment