Turkiye Becomes the 71st Country to Sign the Artemis Accords

1 September 2026National

The Republic of Turkiye became the 71st signatory of the Artemis Accords on 31 August 2026 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir signed for Turkiye, with Turkish Space Agency President Yusuf Kirac present and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman hosting. Turkiye is the seventh Middle Eastern signatory after the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Israel. NASA cited Turkiye's recent milestones, including astronaut Alper Gezeravci's Axiom Mission 3 flight to the ISS in 2024. Turkiye is preparing AYAP-1, its first lunar mission, targeting a hybrid-propelled spacecraft to the Moon in early 2027.

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Artemis Accords launched in 2020 by NASA and the US State Department as non-binding principles for civil space activity | Core principles cover transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance to astronauts, registration of space objects and protection of outer-space heritage sites | India signed the Artemis Accords in June 2023, becoming the 27th signatory

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