Artemis 2 update: Toilets malfunction again as astronauts rush to moon to break Apollo 13 record
Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis 2 astronauts are preparing for their historic flight around the moon to reach deeper into space than the Apollo astronauts.
On the downside, their toilet was broken again.
Three Americans and one Canadian are due to arrive Monday, photographing the mysterious far side of the moon as they move quickly. This is the first group of astronauts to land on the moon in 53 years, continuing the mission of NASA’s Apollo program.
“The Earth is pretty small, and the Moon is definitely getting bigger,” pilot Victor Glover reported.
Mission control has instructed astronauts to open more backup urine collection bags until the Orion capsule’s bathroom is repaired. The so-called lunar toilet malfunctioned after liftoff on Wednesday and has been on and off ever since. A few years ago, a version of the Artemis 2 toilet was tested on the International Space Station.
Engineers suspect ice may have blocked pipes, preventing urine from being completely flushed overboard. Restrooms remain open for No. 2 business.
Debbie Koss, deputy manager of NASA’s Orion program, said astronauts also reported a smell coming from the bathroom, which was buried in the floor of the capsule and had a door and curtain for privacy.
“Space toilets and bathrooms are something that everyone can really understand…it’s always a challenge,” she said, noting that space shuttle toilets also often have problems.
John Honeycutt, chairman of the mission management team, said it’s human nature to be interested in a space toilet and that while it’s “in good shape right now,” he wants it to be 100 percent functional.
“They’re good,” he said of the astronauts. “They’re trained to deal with situations like this.”
Artemis 2 is expected to set a human distance record, traveling more than 252,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth before turning around behind the moon and returning home without stopping or entering lunar orbit. The record is currently held by Apollo 13.
The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country’s role in the mission and spoke with astronaut Jeremy Hansen in Quebec as he traveled to the lunar rendezvous. Hansen was the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.
“Today he is making history for Canada,” said Lisa Campbell, director of the Canadian Space Agency. “As we watch him take a bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’s future is written by those who dare to pursue more.”
Speaking on a live television link, Hansen said he had witnessed an “extraordinary” sight from NASA’s Orion capsule.
Hansen, Glover, Reed Wiseman and Christina Koch were the first astronauts to land on the moon since the three Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972. Koch and Glover were, respectively, the first woman and first black astronaut to walk on the moon.
Their nearly 10-day mission – which ended with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10 – was the first step in NASA’s bold plan for a sustainable moon base. The space agency aims to land two astronauts near the moon’s south pole in 2028.
