Artemis II astronauts face £17m toilet troubles as NASA to smash new moon record

Artemis II astronauts, who are now more than halfway to the moon and preparing for their historic lunar fly-by to push deeper into space than ever before, are dealing with a toilet malfunction. The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach the lunar far side on Monday before zooming around the satellite. It is the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA’s Apollo programme left off.

“The Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,” pilot Victor Glover reported. In the midst of their historic space mission, however, the astronauts are facing an incredibly mundane issue related to their toilet. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned following Wednesday’s liftoff and has been hit-and-miss ever since. A version of the Artemis II toilet was tested on the International Space Station several years ago.

Engineers suspect ice may be blocking the line that is preventing urine from completely flushing overboard. The toilet is still open for No. 2 business, however, but astronauts have been instructed by mission control to use urine collection bags for the time being.

Debbie Korth, NASA’s Orion programme deputy manager, said the astronauts have also reported a smell coming from the bathroom, which is buried in the floor of the capsule with a door and curtain for privacy.

“Space toilets and bathrooms are something everybody can really understand… it’s always a challenge,” she said, noting that the space shuttle toilet was also often on the fritz.

John Honeycutt, chair of the mission management team, said it is human nature to be interested in the space commode, and even though it is “in a good state right now,” he’d like it to be working at 100%.

“They’re OK,” he said of the astronauts. “They trained to manage through the situation.”

Despite the toilet issues, the astronauts continue their historic duties. On Easter Sunday, NASA shared an incredible picture of the moon, showing the Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk.

Artemis II is poised to set a distance record for humans, traveling more than 252,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon and heading 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, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-US citizen to fly to the moon.

“Today he is making history for Canada,” Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell said. “As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’s future is written by those who dare to reach for more.”

In the live televised linkup, Hansen said he has already witnessed “extraordinary” views from NASA’s Orion capsule.

Hansen, Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch are the world’s first lunar astronauts since Apollo 17’s crew of three in 1972. Koch and Glover are the first female and first Black astronauts to the moon, respectively.

Their nearly 10-day mission — ending with a Pacific splashdown on April 10 — is the first step in NASA’s bold plans for a sustainable moon base. The space agency is aiming for a landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028.