Alper Gezeravci’s first message from space was a patriotic one. “The future is in the skies,” he said from a Falcon 9 rocket on its 14-day mission in January 2024. The line is one of many attributed to Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder, and Mr Gezeravci, Turkey’s first astronaut, is the poster boy for the space ambitions of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the current leader. The Turkish Space Agency was founded in 2018, and in 2021 the president announced a ten-year plan for space, including home-made satellites and a moon landing. Mr Gezeravci campaigned alongside Mr Erdogan’s AK Party after returning to Earth.