Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır opened the Salda Science Center in Burdur on 8 October, joined by Turkish astronauts Alper Gezeravcı, Tuva Cihangir Atasever and Gökhan Erdem and about 20 astronauts visiting for IAC 2026. It is the 45th science centre in Türkiye’s network and was funded by TÜBİTAK with 30 million lira. Exhibits include five rockets used on space missions, a Mars hall with a Martian rock sample, a spacesuit simulation and a “Mars Planetarium” on astronaut food and growing plants in space. Lake Salda’s white carbonate shores are often compared with Jezero Crater, where NASA’s Perseverance rover landed. Our take: a smart way to turn a famous Mars analogue into a classroom, as long as the lake’s fragile shoreline stays protected.
45science centres in Türkiye
30M ₺TÜBİTAK funding