Unfortunately, their toilet is malfunctioning once more.
The trio of Americans and their Canadian counterpart are expected to arrive at their target on Monday, capturing images of the enigmatic lunar far side as they glide by. This marks the first crewed mission to the moon in over 53 years, continuing the legacy of NASA’s Apollo program.
“The Earth appears quite small, and the moon is definitely becoming larger,” pilot Victor Glover remarked.
While the Orion capsule’s restroom remains unfixed, Mission Control has advised the astronauts to use more of the backup urine collection bags. The so-called lunar loo has experienced issues since Wednesday’s launch and has been unreliable ever since. A prototype of the Artemis II toilet was previously tested on the International Space Station a few years back.
Engineers believe that ice might be obstructing the line, preventing complete flushing of urine overboard. However, the toilet is still available for solid waste.
Debbie Korth, NASA’s Orion program deputy manager, mentioned that the astronauts have also detected an odor emanating from the restroom, which is located in the capsule’s floor and includes a door and curtain for privacy.
“Space toilets and bathrooms are universally understood, and they pose ongoing challenges,” she noted, recalling that the space shuttle toilet often faced similar issues.
John Honeycutt, chair of the mission management team, expressed that human curiosity naturally extends to the space toilet, and although it is currently “in a good state,” he hopes for it to function at full capacity.
“They’re managing well,” he said about the astronauts. “They were trained to handle such situations.”
Artemis II is set to establish a record distance for humans, traveling over 252,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth before making a U-turn behind the moon and returning home without stopping or entering lunar orbit. This record is held by Apollo 13.
The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country’s contribution to the mission, with astronaut Jeremy Hansen speaking from Quebec as he approached his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-U.S. citizen to journey to the moon.
“Today he is making history for Canada,” stated Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell. “As we watch him take this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’s future is shaped by those who aspire to achieve more.”
During a live broadcast, Hansen shared that he has already seen “extraordinary” views from NASA’s Orion capsule.
Hansen, Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch comprise the first group of lunar astronauts since Apollo 17’s crew in 1972. Koch and Glover are the first female and first Black astronauts on this lunar mission, respectively.
Their nearly 10-day mission — concluding with a splashdown in the Pacific on April 10 — marks the initial phase of NASA’s ambitious plans for a sustainable moon base. The space agency aims to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole by 2028.
