When Will First Turkish Astronaut Alper Gezeravcı Return to Earth?

The Ax-3 crew, which included Turkey's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı, has completed its space mission. When Gezeravcı and his three fellow astronauts, who conducted 13 experiments in space, will depart from the International Space Station (ISS) and begin their return journey to Earth remained the subject of speculation. A new statement was released by SpaceX regarding the matter. The Dragon spacecraft carrying Turkey's first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı and the Axiom-3 (Ax-3) crew's return to Earth had been postponed three times. SpaceX announced via social media platform X that the Ax-3 crew's return to Earth was planned for 17:05 UTC following their departure from the International Space Station. The company stated that the Dragon spacecraft's departure from the ISS would depend on weather conditions in the landing area.

The return journey to Earth is expected to take 12 hours

Following atmospheric entry, the Dragon capsule will slow down due to friction and will land after parachutes are deployed. The planned landing is expected to take place at one of seven potential landing sites located in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida or in the Gulf of Mexico to the west of the United States.

Successfully launched on 19 January

The Falcon-9 rocket carrying Gezeravcı and his three fellow astronauts into orbit aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 19 January at 00:49 UTC. The Dragon spacecraft, following approximately 36 hours of space travel, docked with the International Space Station on 20 January at 13:40 UTC.

Alper Gezeravcı conducted 13 experiments on the International Space Station according to schedule.

Myeloid - With the "Myeloid" experiment, Gezeravcı investigated how galactic cosmic radiation, changes in gravity and other challenging factors encountered during the stay in space affect astronauts' immune system and blood production process. Miyoka and Uyna - Conducting the "Miyoka" experiment which will provide critical information on lead-free soldering for the space and defense industries, Gezeravcı also performed the "Uyna" experiment which is expected to make significant contributions to Turkey's acquisition of new-generation material development capability for the space, aviation and defense industry. Message - Work was also carried out on the "Message" experiment which investigates genes whose function has not yet been discovered as affected by the microgravity environment and their relationship to the immune system. Pranet and Gmetal - Conducting the "Pranet" experiment which was proposed by students of Muş Science and Art Center and overseen by their teacher Birsen Geçer, Gezeravcı also performed the "Gmetal" experiment aimed at making the propulsion systems of spacecraft more efficient, overseen by Prof. İskender Gökalp from TÜBİTAK MAM and Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Ahmet Yozgatlıgil. Extremophyte - Gezeravcı also conducted the "Extremophyte" experiment investigating the physiological and molecular responses of the halophytic plant Schrenkiella Parvula, an endemic species that grows in Salt Lake, to the space environment. CRISPR-Gem and Expert - The "CRISPR-Gem" experiment, a first step toward developing new plants to meet the nutritional needs of the large numbers of humans who will live in space in the future and to support environmental controls in closed-life environments, and the "Expert" experiment investigating the possibility of using microalgae species in space life support systems were also conducted during this period. Algalspace and Vokalkord - Gezeravcı continued the "Algalspace" experiment investigating the use of algae in the space environment for carbon dioxide to oxygen regeneration, additional food supply, water purification and life support areas, and the "Vokalkord" experiment which will enable the detection of vital reactions to life in space through "vocal cord" related changes and the identification of discomforts caused by low microgravity through sound frequencies. Oxygen saturation - The "Oxygen Saturation" experiment aimed to calculate the oxygen level of air provided with artificial intelligence support to identify differences and discomforts caused by low microgravity. Metabolom - With the "Metabolom" experiment aimed at revealing the effects of space conditions on human health, Gezeravcı conducted his final scientific work on the International Space Station (ISS).   Source