Turkey's first Moon mission: TLM-1 probe to launch on a Falcon 9 in 2027
The roughly 3.6-ton probe is to orbit the Moon at an altitude of 100 kilometers. Thermal vacuum chamber tests begin this week, with launch planned for April to June 2027.
Symbolic image · Photo: SpaceX / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
Turkey is pushing ahead with its first lunar mission. The TLM-1 probe (First Turkish Lunar Mission) is to launch between April and June 2027 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, with April the target. According to Spaceflight Now, environmental testing begins this week with a thermal vacuum chamber test. The roughly 3.6-ton spacecraft is being built by the research institute Tübitak Uzay, supported by the Turkish Space Agency TUA.
TLM-1 is to operate for at least five months in a circular polar orbit 100 kilometers above the Moon. The hybrid propulsion system from the company DeltaV uses nitrous oxide as oxidizer and a solid polymer fuel. On board are four science instruments, including radiation detectors, plus three imaging and navigation systems. Of 65 components, 56 are made in Turkey. If the mission succeeds, Turkey would be the ninth nation to operate a payload at the Moon, according to Spaceflight Now (counting ESA as a group of states).
At the end of the mission, the remaining propellant is to be used for a controlled impact on the Moon – a rehearsal for the planned TLM-2 lander, which has neither a rocket nor a launch date yet. Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Turkey earlier in October, project manager Burak Yağlıoğlu said that for a nation with a moon on its flag, going to the Moon is a very, very long-held dream.