1st Turkish space traveler’s gMetal trials pave way for journey to Mars

By Zeynep Duyar

ANKARA (AA) – The gMetal experiment, recently conducted by Türkiye's first space traveler, Col. Alper Gezeravci, will help develop rocket systems running on carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere, paving the way for Türkiye to reach Mars in the future.

The gMetal project has been in the making for one and a half years, Professor Iskender Gokalp, project manager for gMetal at Türkiye's science institution Tubitak Marmara Research Center, told Anadolu.
Gokalp stated that they made preliminary preparations for combustion experiments with gMetal, saying:

"You need to have a good mixture between the fuel and the air; for instance, using solid particles in solid fuel rocket engines is difficult in gravity; therefore, we're figuring out how the mixing with solid particles works in a non-gravity or very low gravity environment, because we're aiming to build a small rocket for Mars, but if we take the air for fuel from here on Earth, it is quite expensive, and considering that 95% of the Martian atmosphere is carbon dioxide, we want to build a rocket that will take metal particles like aluminum or magnesium from Earth onboard and use the carbon dioxide on Mars as fuel. Thus, we want to use less fuel and increase the propulsion power better."

- gMetal allows for production of recyclable fuel

Gokalp highlighted that carbon dioxide is emitted due to the use of fossil fuels and added that this situation causes global warming.

As to how to produce heat and energy without carbon dioxide emissions, he said that when iron and oxygen combine and burn, the iron oxide and heat created can be delivered to iron factories to transform the output back to iron ore, which is one of the "best examples of the circular economy."

Gokalp underlined that gMetal is not a combustion experiment but an experiment to "improve the mixture" and added that this experiment could also be carried out on Earth.

- Creating zero-gravity environment on Earth is possible

Gokalp mentioned that it is not possible to easily find an opportunity to conduct experiments and research in space, but it is possible to create zero gravity environment here on Earth, saying:

"If we want Turkey to participate strongly in space exploration, we need to increase the frequency of these experiments, and the way to do this is to realize a zero-gravity environment on Earth. There are two ways to do it: the first is parabolic flying planes, and the second is elevators."

"Imagine an Airbus that can take off and land at 45 degrees; it can divide gravity by 100 for 20 seconds right at the vertex of a parabola, so we can use the inside of the plane as a laboratory," he added.

As for the second way, when the elevator is falling, or freefalling, he said that "you can fly in the air for a short time," as there is an example of this method employed in Germany, where a 110-meter freefall tower of elevator exists, in which many experts and researchers conduct experiments every day.

Gokalp highlighted that the largest freefall system was a one-kilometer coal mine shaft in Japan, but it was closed.

"When I went to Japan for experiments, I was told that there was another Turkish person there, and that is when I met Ahmet Yozgatligil, Deputy Industry and Technology Minister, who then became the other manager for the gMetal project," he said.

Gokalp added that it is important for such research and experiments to be carried out in Türkiye to encourage the youth and to prevent a "brain drain."

*Writing by Emir Yildirim