ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious 10-year space program for his country, which includes missions to the moon, sending Turkish astronauts into space and the development of viable satellite systems internationally.
Erdogan announced the program, seen as part of his vision to place Turkey in an extended regional and global role during a live TV event with special effects.
He said Turkey intends to establish “a first contact with the moon” in 2023, when the country marks the centenary of the founding of the Turkish republic. The first stage of the mission would be “through international cooperation,” while the second stage would use Turkish missiles, Erdogan said.
“Our main and most important goal for our national space program is the contact of the Republic, in the 100th year, with the moon,” said the Turkish leader. “God willing, we’re going to the moon.”
Erdogan also said Turkey’s goal is to send Turkish citizens into space with international cooperation, work with other countries to build a spaceport and create a “global brand” in satellite technology.
“I hope that this roadmap, which will lead Turkey to the top league in the global space race, will come to life successfully,” he said.
Turkey set up the Turkish Space Agency, or TUA, in 2018, with the aim of joining several countries with space programs.
Critics have questioned the government’s decision to spend large sums of money on this goal at a time when the country’s economy is suffering. But proponents say a space program will provide jobs for researchers and is likely to reduce the brain drain of migrant scientists.
Erdogan did not provide details on how Turkey intends to achieve its goals. Last month, he and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk spoke by phone and discussed cooperation in space technology with Turkish companies.
Meanwhile, a metal monolith that mysteriously appeared and disappeared in a field in southeastern Turkey turned out to be a publicity stunt before the event.
The 3-meter-high metal plate (about 10 feet high) with the inscription “Look at the sky, you will see the moon” written in an old Turkish script was found on Friday by a farmer from Sanliurfa province. The monolith is located near the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Gobekli Tepe, which houses megalithic structures dating from the tenth century BC, thousands of years before Stonehenge.
The structure disappeared on Tuesday morning, adding to the mystery.
An image of the monolith was later projected on the screen, as Erdogan said: “I now present to you the vision, strategy and objectives of Turkey for 10 years and tell you: ‘Look at the sky, you will see the moon.'”
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Robert Badendieck contributed from Istanbul