(MENAFN) Turkish astronaut Tuva Cihangir Atasever addressed an audience in London on Friday, emphasizing Türkiye’s expanding space initiative and the scientific impact of its inaugural human spaceflights.

The event took place at the Turkish Embassy and brought together Turkish Ambassador to London Osman Koray Ertaş, Atasever, and a large number of attendees.

"Not only space itself, but the scientific research conducted there holds the potential to change human history and the course of time," said Ertaş.

He noted that Türkiye has ramped up its efforts and has now completed two crewed missions into space.

Ertaş stressed the strategic vision driving the investments made by leading nations and corporations in the space sector.

He asserted that Türkiye must persist with its progress, as these endeavors are likely to lead to significant transformations in numerous aspects of life.

He underlined Türkiye’s essential role in the international space competition and referred to Atasever as a central figure in these developments.

Atasever shared that 20 distinct scientific studies were carried out during the pair of missions.

"We took our first steps in scientific work through manned space missions," he stated.

Quoting fellow astronaut Alper Gezeravcı, he remarked, "We all take hundreds or thousands of steps every day. Because they are so routine, we don’t care about them. But every parent treasures their child’s first step. We took our first step with scientific work."

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