The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has unveiled an ambitious 10-year space programme, a first for the country that highlights Ankara’s plans to compete with other countries both on the world stage and beyond.
Speaking on Tuesday evening during a live televised event laced with special effects, the president said the first goal of the comprehensive programme was to make contact with the moon in 2023, the centennial of the founding of the Turkish republic.
Other missions include sending Turkish astronauts into space, building a Turkish spaceport, and developing sophisticated satellite and meteorology technology.
