NASA astronaut born in Türkiye to visit space station in 2027

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham, who was born at Incirlik Air Base in the southern Turkish province of Adana, said she will wave to her grandparents and the people of her birthplace from orbit when she travels to the International Space Station next year as part of Expedition 76.

Speaking in a video shared by the US Consulate in Adana, Burnham stated that her grandmother hailed from Eceabat in Çanakkale and her grandfather from Afyonkarahisar. "I was born at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, and my grandmother and grandfather live in Türkiye," she said. "When I go into space, I will wave to my grandmother, my grandfather, my fellow Adana residents and the entire world."

Burnham credited her grandfather with sparking her interest in astronomy by constructing his own telescopes for stargazing sessions in their backyard. "My grandfather's curiosity about space influenced our entire family," she said. "I remember that he built his own telescopes. We would spend hours in our backyard watching the stars and planets."

From drilling rigs to orbit

Selected for NASA's 23rd astronaut class in 2021 and graduating in 2024, Burnham holds degrees in chemical and mechanical engineering from the University of California, San Diego and the University of Southern California. Before joining the space agency, she spent more than a decade managing drilling operations on oil rigs across Alaska, Canada, Ohio and Texas while also serving as an engineering duty officer in the US Navy Reserve. She previously interned with the Deployable Autonomy Technologies group at NASA's Ames Research Center.

NASA announced in July that Burnham will serve as a flight engineer aboard Russia's Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft alongside cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov. The mission is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in March 2027, with the crew expected to spend approximately seven months conducting scientific investigations aboard the station. Burnham also holds private pilot qualifications covering fixed-wing aircraft, seaplanes and helicopters.

Artemis Accords partnership

Burnham also welcomed Türkiye's accession to the Artemis Accords, which the country signed on Aug. 31 to become the 71st member of the international framework promoting peaceful space exploration. She highlighted Türkiye's two astronaut missions and its progress on AYAP-1, the country's planned first lunar mission, while noting the nation's role in hosting the TEKNOFEST aerospace festival and the International Astronautical Congress. "It is an honor for NASA to welcome Türkiye into the Artemis Accords community," she said, adding that she was excited about what the two countries could accomplish together in the coming years.

The Expedition 76 mission will mark Burnham's first spaceflight since she became eligible for missions to the space station, the Moon and potentially Mars. The crew is expected to conduct technology demonstrations intended to support future exploration efforts while contributing to research benefiting Earth.