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This photo provided by NASA shows the moon seen from a window on the Orion spacecraft Integrity during the Artemis II mission on Friday, April 3, 2026. (NASA via AP)<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
In this photo provided by NASA, Commander Reid Wiseman looks at the Earth from a window aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity during the Artemis II mission en route to the moon on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (NASA via AP)<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
In this photo provided by NASA, astronaut Christina Koch, background left, is illuminated by a screen inside the darkened Orion spacecraft Integrity on the third day of the Artemis II mission, Friday, April 3, 2026. At right, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen looks out of one of Orion’s windows. (NASA via AP)<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
This photo provided by NASA shows the exterior of the Orion spacecraft Integrity during the Artemis II mission en route to the moon on Friday, April 3, 2026. (NASA via AP)<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
In this image from video provided by NASA, Artemis II astronauts, from left, Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch and Victor Glover gather for an interview en route to the moon on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (NASA via AP)<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts.<\/p>\n
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On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It is the first moon-bound crew<\/a> in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA\u2019s Apollo program left off.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,\u201d pilot Victor Glover reported.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Debbie Korth, NASA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSpace toilets and bathrooms are something everybody can really understand .. it\u2019s always a challenge,\u201d she said, noting that the space shuttle toilet was also often on the fritz.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cin a good state right now,\u201d he\u2019d like it to be working at 100%.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re OK,\u201d he said of the astronauts. \u201cThey trained to manage through the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country\u2019s role in the mission, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.<\/p>\n \u201cToday he is making history for Canada,\u201d Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell said. \u201cAs we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada\u2019s future is written by those who dare to reach for more.\u201d<\/p>\n In the live televised linkup, Hansen said he has already witnessed \u201cextraordinary\u201d views from NASA’s Orion capsule.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Their nearly 10-day mission \u2014 ending with a Pacific splashdown on April 10 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This photo provided by NASA shows the moon seen from a window on the Orion spacecraft Integrity during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375694,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[245,29794,180261,85,46,29795,180263,180262,180260,155889,174699,174697,174696,174698,174700,29796,141,145,7195],"class_list":{"0":"post-375693","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-christina-koch","10":"tag-debbie-korth","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-jeremy-hansen","14":"tag-john-honeycutt","15":"tag-lisa-campbell","16":"tag-nasa-moon-artemis-astronauts","17":"tag-package-100024-ap-online","18":"tag-package-100373-mc-complete-state-national","19":"tag-product-30598-ap-national-news-report-a-wire","20":"tag-product-31998-ap-online-national-news","21":"tag-product-32539-ap-online-science-news","22":"tag-product-46986-ap-online-top-stories","23":"tag-reid-wiseman","24":"tag-science","25":"tag-space","26":"tag-victor-glover"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775358909_862_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
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