Turkey’s first astronauts Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever, who made history with their space travels, and the Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Fatih Kacır met with young people at the Near East University Atatürk Culture and Congress Center.

The event, which saw intense participation, was attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Zekeriya Coştu, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Orhan Aydın, National Technology General Manager Sadullah Uzun and Informatics Valley (Bilişim Vadisi) General Manager Erkam Tüzgen, as well as many rectors, deans, academics, students and the public.

The opening speeches of the event 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 Enterprises Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel. After the speeches, Alper Gezeravcı, who went down in history as Turkey’s first astronaut, made a comprehensive presentation about the preparation and training stages for their space journey, the experiences he had during the journey, life on the International Space Station and the experiments they had, and the process of returning to Earth. Over a thousand participants who filled the hall listened to Alper Gezeravcı, who shared his experiences with his presentation enriched with photographs and videos, with great attention. At the end of the event, especially children and young people showed great interest in Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever. Long lines formed in the hall by those who wanted to get autographs, take selfies and have souvenir photos taken. After the presentation, Near East University Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ presented Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever with a “Lefkara Work” unique to Cyprus.

Mehmet Fatih Kacır: “TEKNOFEST will be an important turning point in Cyprus’ journey to becoming an ‘Informatics Island’.”

While entering the Near East University Atatürk Culture and Congress Center where the event will be held, the Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, chatted with the students for a while and reminded them that he last came to the Near East University in January 2024 for the opening of the Dr. Suat Günsel Mosque. Minister Kacır said in his conversation with the students, “I did not have the opportunity to visit the campus during that visit. However, today I saw how beautiful your campus is and how lucky you are.”

Addressing the hall after the program started, the Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, started his speech by mentioning the ongoing TEKNOFEST 2025 events in the TRNC. Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır 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 organized since 2018. Holding TEKNOFEST in Northern Cyprus this year will be an important turning point in Cyprus’ journey to becoming an ‘Informatics Island’.”

Minister Kacır also stated that they were very happy to tell the story of Turkey’s first manned space mission at the Near East University, and emphasized that TEKNOFEST reached thousands of people and encouraged young people to join the technology journey. Stating that they organized various events to inspire young people, Minister Kacır said, “The Turkish youth, namely the TEKNOFEST generation, is at the heart of the national technology initiative. Innovative technologies are changing the world and we are bringing millions of young people together at TEKNOFEST with this objective. By establishing science centers and technology workshops all over Turkey and in Northern Cyprus, we ensure that our young people are introduced to technology from an early age.”

Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said, “Our young people have shown the whole world what they can achieve when their paths are clear and obstacles are removed. Today, Turkey’s success in the field of aviation attracts the attention of the whole world. Our friends are proud of these achievements, our enemies are watching with concern. If we can talk about Turkey’s success in the defense industry today, this success is the work of the TEKNOFEST generation.”

“This event, which brings together scientific inspiration and dreams in the same hall, will undoubtedly open new horizons for new generations,” said Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Near East Enterprises Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel, who began his speech by saying “What made this precious meeting possible is the determined steps taken within the framework of Turkey’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.”
Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel, who also stated that they were proud to be the official academic partner of TRNC TEKNOFEST 2025, said, “As a university, we were the institution that submitted the most projects from Northern Cyprus to TEKNOFEST. We are the university that represents Cyprus most strongly with our 5 projects that made it to the final stage. Last weekend, we were proud to host the first spark of festival enthusiasm in our country by opening our campus to the first stage of the TEKNOFEST Drone Championship. I believe that this historical meeting we are experiencing here today will also feed the scientific curiosity of our youth and encourage them to set higher goals.”

Sharing his experiences at the event, Alper Gezeravcı first talked about the difficult and intensive training processes they went through before the space journey. “To become an astronaut, you need to be physically prepared, just having theoretical knowledge is not enough.” said Alper Gezeravcı, adding; “Low-pressure simulations prepared us as close as possible to the real space environment. During this process, centrifuge (G-Lab) training was also very challenging. We were exposed to a pressure exactly nine times that of gravity. This was an experience that really challenged the body, but these were necessary to be prepared for the conditions we would encounter in space.” Emphasizing that the training they received was very important not only for space work but also for survival there, Alper Gezeravcı said, “It is vital to know every step in advance against any difficulty you will encounter in space.”

Alper Gezeravcı, who stated that they received the “COLUMBUS” training provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) to ensure that astronauts are prepared for various difficulties they may encounter while working in space, said, “First aid procedures were also very important. In the event of an accident or emergency, there is no doctor in space. Therefore, every astronaut needs to have the most basic health information. Thanks to this training, we learned how to protect ourselves and our friends safely in space.”

Gezeravcı touched on his interesting experiences while sharing the details of space travel. Gezeravcı, who touched on the difficulties of life in space and drew attention to the issues of eating and drinking habits and space debris, stated that everything in space is designed to be suitable for microgravity. Gezeravcı, who stated that space debris is a big problem, said, “There are serious risks related to this debris when returning to Earth. Because they move at very high speeds and can be really dangerous.” Eating in space is quite different from eating on Earth, he said, and added; “If you let go, a grain of rice and a fork and knife will float in the air. That’s why you have to secure everything. All the ingredients used after eating should be secured either on the table or in a suitable place on the station. Otherwise, everything will float in the air in the area you are in.”, conveying the conditions of the environment. Gezeravcı, who stated that they reached space in 36 hours and that the return took approximately 48 hours, said, “This journey of the team I was part of broke the record as the longest transfer period of the Dragon spacecraft to date.”

The most difficult was hygiene, the easiest was sleep!

Emphasizing that hygiene is one of the most difficult issues in space, Gezeravcı explained that a five-minute face wash took approximately 35 minutes. He said that they provided hygiene during this period with specially packaged shampoos and towels. Expressing that the feeling of flying and the transition to sleep are the easiest situations to adapt to, Gezeravcı said that it is essential to secure sleeping bags while sleeping, otherwise it would be possible to sleep in one place and wake up in another. Gezeravcı added that they exercise for two hours every day to prevent muscle atrophy in the zero-gravity environment.