The 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026), scheduled for October 5-9 in Türkiye’s Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, has set records for research submissions and early registrations.
More than 10,000 participants from over 100 countries are expected at the NEST Convention Center, where the event’s loggerhead sea turtle mascot, Turquoise, will welcome guests.
The International Astronautical Congress is the world’s largest and most prestigious annual gathering for the global space and aviation community.
Organised annually by the International Astronautical Federation, the congress will be coordinated by Türkiye’s Industry and Technology Ministry.
The congress will be hosted by the Turkish Space Agency and co-hosted by SAHA Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest defence, aerospace and space industry cluster.
IAC organisers received 8,330 research abstracts from 108 countries, setting records for both the number of submissions and participating nations.
The figure surpassed about 7,000 abstracts submitted for the 2024 congress in Milan and 6,400 for the 2025 congress in Sydney.
Türkiye accounted for 1,810 abstracts, the highest number submitted by a single country in IAC history. Turkish researchers also recorded the highest number of accepted papers, with 674.
Following evaluation, 4,077 studies were accepted directly and 542 were placed on a waiting list. More than 4,000 presentations will be held across over 180 technical sessions.
The congress also received more than 3,000 early registrations from 83 countries, setting a record for early registrations.
Outreach activities at universities, Türkiye’s Sky Observation Event and TEKNOFEST encouraged students, academics and researchers across the country to submit their work to the congress.
