World’s largest annual gathering dedicated to space opens in Türkiye’s Antalya

The world’s space community gathered in Türkiye’s Mediterranean city of Antalya on Monday for the 77th International Astronautical Congress, bringing together space agency chiefs, astronauts, scientists, engineers, industry executives and policymakers to discuss the future of space.

The five-day congress, running through Oct. 9 at the NEST Congress and Exhibition Center in Belek, is being held in Türkiye for the first time.

The theme for this year is "The World Needs More Space."

More than 10,000 participants from over 100 countries are expected to attend the event, which is organized annually by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).

Often described as the world’s largest annual space gathering, the congress combines scientific and technical sessions with exhibitions, business meetings and high-level discussions. This year’s program will cover subjects ranging from lunar exploration, satellites and artificial intelligence to space security, sustainability and international cooperation.

The event has attracted a record 8,330 research abstracts from 108 countries, with more than 4,000 presentations scheduled across over 180 technical sessions.

Türkiye is hosting the congress under the coordination of the Industry and Technology Ministry, with the Turkish Space Agency as host and SAHA, a Turkish defense and aerospace industry cluster, as co-host. Anadolu is the event’s global communications partner.

The event comes after Türkiye signed the Artemis Accords at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC on Aug. 31, becoming the 71st signatory to the international framework outlining principles for peaceful, transparent and sustainable exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond.

On Sunday, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir hosted the traditional Ministers and Members of Parliament Meeting in Antalya, bringing together ministers, parliamentarians, space agency heads and senior representatives from 38 countries. The meeting adopted the Antalya Declaration, a Turkish-initiated text calling for peaceful, sustainable and responsible approaches to space, which was endorsed by 32 participants from 21 countries.