Turkey will take Antarctic algae to space

Header image: Landsat 8 natural-colour image of water, sea ice, and phytoplankton in Antarctica’s Granite Harbor – a cove in the vicinity of the Ross Sea – on 5 March 2017. Image credit: NASA.

In April 2023, Turkey announced that its first astronaut would travel to the International Space Station (ISS) by the end of the year. Air force pilot Alper Gezeravci is expected to be the first Turkish citizen in space; his backup is aviation systems engineer Tuva Cihangir Atasever.

Turkey’s first space mission will last 14 days, during which its astronaut will perform 13 different experiments prepared by the country’s universities and research institutions.

One of those experiments, the ALGALSPACE project, will send microalgae (single-celled algae) collected and isolated from Antarctica to space for the first time. The data to be obtained at the end of the study will also contribute to the technologies to be developed in future space missions.

The project manager is Prof Didem Balkanlı Özçimen, at the Bioengineering Department of Yıldız Technical University (YTÜ). He says that evaluating new microalgae species resistant to space conditions will make an important contribution to long-term space missions:

“Microalgae, which are easy to grow and rich in nutrients, can be used as food for space travelers, as well as contributing to space missions in many areas such as improving air quality and waste treatment. One of the challenges of long-duration space missions, such as human settlement on the Moon or Mars, is the limited life support resources that can be taken on board. We will ensure that microalgae, which have adapted to harsh conditions such as the poles and are resistant to these conditions, will be used in space.” 

Turkish