Alper Gezeravcı, the first Turkish astronaut, was part of the Ax-3 (Axiom-3) team, and a welcome ceremony was held for them at the International Space Station (ISS).
Axiom Space broadcasted the live reception ceremony for the Ax-3 team, including the first Turkish astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı.
During the welcome ceremony, Gezeravcı expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you very much. Firstly, I would like to thank the seven-member exploration team for their kind hospitality. They were actually waiting for us at the door. It was a very nice and kind welcome for us. I thank everyone who made great efforts for us to come here during the last 8 months of training and all our colleagues who contributed to our safe journey to the ISS. As Turkey, we are experiencing the happiness of taking a step into a first in our history. And we are eager to contribute to the science and research activities here.”
Speaking in Turkish from the space station, Gezeravcı extended his gratitude to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, and all those who sacrificed their lives for the country. He also expressed gratitude to the strong will of the state and the nation, saying, “The future is in the skies.”
During the welcome ceremony, the crew was presented with the International Astronaut Symbolism Badge.
Andreas Mogensen, the first to speak from Expedition 70, indicated the increasing number of astronauts from various nations working on the space station and expressed excitement about the intensive work period in the ISS for the next two weeks.
Michael Lopez-Alegria, the mission leader of Ax-3, commented on the diverse representation of nations in the ISS, stating, “This situation is truly a symbolic indication of what we are trying to do, not only to open the ISS to other nations but also as a symbolic gesture to individuals and researchers.”
Lopez-Alegria mentioned spending a few extra hours on Dragon but emphasized that there were no issues.
Marcus Wandt, a mission member, described the approximately 36-hour space journey around Earth as surprising and strange. He highlighted the importance of working with people from different nations in the mission.
Walter Villadei, another mission member, expressed gratitude to the Expedition 70 team for their warm welcome and thanked his home country, Italy.
The Expedition 70 team at the ISS welcomed the Ax-3 team, which includes Gezeravcı.
The vehicle carrying the Ax-3 crew, including the first Turkish astronaut Gezeravcı, docked with the ISS at 13:42 (Turkish Standard Time) after a space journey lasting about 36 hours.
source: aa.com.tr / prepared by Melisa Beğiç