Now more than two-thirds to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts are preparing for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts. On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again.
The three Americans — Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover — and one Canadian, Jeremy Hansen, are set to reach their destination today, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It is the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA’s Apollo program left off.
“The Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,” pilot Glover reported.
Photo: NASA via AFP
Until the Orion capsule’s bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the backup urine collection bags.
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 might be blocking the line that is preventing urine from completely flushing overboard. The toilet is still open for No. 2 business.
Debbie Korth, NASA’s Orion program 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.
Mission management team chairman John Honeycutt said that it is human nature to be interested in the space commode, and even though it is “in a good state right now,” he would like it to be working at 100 percent.
“They’re OK,” he said of the astronauts. “They trained to manage through the situation.”
NASA yesterday published an image taken by the Artemis crew, showing a distant moon with the Orientale basin visible.
“This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes,” NASA said.
The massive crater, which resembles a bullseye, had been photographed before by orbiting cameras.
Speaking to Canadian children live from space, astronaut Koch said the crew was most excited to see the basin — sometimes known as the moon’s “Grand Canyon.”
“It’s very distinctive and no human eyes previously had seen this crater until today, really, when we were privileged enough to see it,” Koch said during a question-and-answer session hosted by the Canadian Space Agency.
Earlier, the astronauts started their day with a meal that included scrambled eggs and coffee, and were woken up to the tune of Chappell Roan’s pop smash Pink Pony Club, NASA said.
“Morale is high on board,” commander Wiseman told Mission Control as the space crew’s work day began.
The astronauts have already seen brand-new perspectives.
“Last night, we did have our first view of the moon far side, and it was just absolutely spectacular,” mission specialist Koch said during a live interview from space.