Türkiye's first astronauts who made history with their space travels, Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever, together with the Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, met with students from the Near East University and Near East College in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The event, which took place at the Near East University Atatürk Culture and Congress Center, was met with great interest from young people.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Zekeriya Coştu, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın, National Technology General Manager Sadullah Uzun, Informatics Valley General Manager Erkam Tüzgen, many rectors, deans, academicians, students and the public attended the event.
Opening Speeches by Minister Kacır and Prof. Dr. Günsel
The opening speeches of the program were made by the Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Fatih Kacır and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Near East Initiative Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel. In his speech, Minister Kacır touched upon the ongoing TEKNOFEST 2025 events in the TRNC and said, “We have been bringing our journey in the field of science and technology together with the Turkish nation and the world with the TEKNOFESTs we have been organizing since 2018. Holding TEKNOFEST in Northern Cyprus this year will be an important milestone in Cyprus’ journey to become an ‘Informatics Island.’” In addition, Minister Kacır expressed his pleasure in telling the story of Türkiye’s first manned space mission at the Near East University and emphasized that they organized various events to inspire young people.
Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel began his speech by saying, “This event, which brings together scientific inspiration and dreams in the same hall, will undoubtedly open new horizons for new generations.” Prof. Dr. Günsel said, “What made this valuable meeting possible is the determined steps taken within the framework of Türkiye’s National Space Program. Your presence among us today is the most concrete indicator of the value given to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and its youth.” Expressing their pride in being the official academic partner of TRNC TEKNOFEST 2025, Prof. Dr. Günsel stated that as a university, they were the institution that submitted the most projects from Northern Cyprus to TEKNOFEST and represented Cyprus in the strongest way with their 5 projects that made it to the final stage.
Alper Gezeravcı Shared His Space Experiences
Following the opening speeches, Türkiye's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı gave a comprehensive presentation about his historic space journey. Gezeravcı detailed the preparation and training stages, the unique experiences he had during the journey, life on the International Space Station, the scientific experiments they conducted, and the process of returning to Earth, and conveyed his experiences with photographs and videos that he enriched his presentation. More than a thousand attendees who filled the hall listened to Alper Gezeravcı with great attention.
After the presentation, especially children and young people showed great interest in Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever. Long queues formed in the hall for those who wanted to get autographs, take selfies and have souvenir photos taken. At the end of the event, Near East University Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ presented Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever with a “Lefkara Work” unique to Cyprus.
Important Details About Space Travel from Gezeravcı
Alper Gezeravcı, speaking about the difficult and intense training processes they went through before the space trip, emphasized that not only theoretical knowledge but also physical preparation is vital in order to become an astronaut. Gezeravcı, who described the difficulty of low-pressure simulations and centrifuge (G-Lab) training where they were exposed to nine times the pressure of gravity, stated that this training was necessary to be prepared for the conditions they will encounter in space. Gezeravcı, who touched on the importance of the “COLUMBUS” training provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and especially first aid procedures, stated that every astronaut must have basic health information since there is no doctor in space.
Gezeravcı also touched on the difficulties of life in space, drawing attention to the issues of eating and drinking habits and space debris. Gezeravcı, who explained that everything needs to be fixed in a microgravity environment, otherwise objects float in the air, said that space debris poses a major problem and can pose serious risks on the journey back to Earth. Gezeravcı, who stated that they reached space in 36 hours and that the return took approximately 48 hours, stated that his team's journey broke the record for the longest transfer time of the Dragon spacecraft to date.
Emphasizing that hygiene is one of the most difficult issues in space, Gezeravcı explained that a five-minute face wash takes approximately 35 minutes. Expressing that the feeling of flying and the transition to sleep are the easiest situations to adapt to, Gezeravcı added that they exercise for two hours every day to prevent muscle atrophy in the zero-gravity environment.
