The 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026), scheduled for Oct. 5-9 in Türkiye's Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, has already set records for scientific submissions and early registrations.
The event's loggerhead sea turtle mascot, Turquoise, will welcome guests to the NEST Convention Center, where more than 10,000 participants from over 100 countries are expected.
Organized annually by the International Astronautical Federation, the congress will be coordinated by Türkiye's Industry and Technology Ministry, hosted by the Turkish Space Agency and co-hosted by SAHA Istanbul, Türkiye's and Europe's largest defense, aerospace, and space industry cluster. Anadolu is the event's global communications partner.
IAC organizers have received 8,330 research abstracts from 108 countries, setting records for both number of submissions and participating nations.
The figure surpassed the approximately 7,000 abstracts submitted for the 2024 congress in Milan and the 6,400 submitted 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 had 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.
