Turkey’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, along with three other crew members, was launched from Florida on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The voyage is part of a commercially arranged mission by Texas startup Axiom Space, utilizing a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. The Axiom-3 mission aims to conduct scientific experiments on the effects of spaceflight on human health and disease during the crew’s approximately 14-day stay aboard the ISS. This mission reflects the growing involvement of nations in Earth orbit for scientific, prestige, and communication purposes.