{"id":519030,"date":"2026-04-08T06:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/519030\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T06:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:32:10","slug":"nasa-issues-two-major-updates-on-mission-crews-fate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/519030\/","title":{"rendered":"Nasa issues two major updates on mission crew’s fate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nasa has issued two major updates on the Artemis II crew as the astronauts continue their journey back to Earth.<\/p>\n

As the mission entered its seventh day, the space agency confirmed the four’s return date and provided the latest on the ongoing toilet issues onboard the spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Nasa has admitted astronauts have been forced to limit the use of the toilet due to ongoing issues with the wastewater venting system.<\/p>\n

And on Tuesday, flight director Rick Henfling explained that evacuating the wastewater tank has proved more difficult than expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe toilet remains operational,\u201d Mr Henfling said at a press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge that we’re working through is evacuating the wastewater tank. The vent is a lot less than we were expecting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue is believed to have been caused by ice and frozen urine blocking the vent line, with astronauts using heaters and other methods to thaw and clear the obstruction.<\/p>\n

As a result, the crew has been forced to rely on backup urine collection systems rather than the primary toilet.<\/p>\n

\"Victor<\/p>\n

The astronauts have been forced to limit toilet use due to ongoing issues with the wastewater venting system<\/p>\n

| NASA<\/p>\n

Mr Henfling added that reduced usage has had one benefit, with the onboard holding tank requiring less frequent upkeep.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a lower use rate, since we’re not able to vent the waste water products, we don’t need to do the maintenance as often,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the space agency confirmed the date the astronauts will set foot back down on Earth. <\/p>\n

It said on social media: “We anticipate that the Orion spacecraft has now departed the lunar sphere of influence – this is when the gravitational pull of the Moon is stronger than the gravitational pull of Earth.<\/p>\n

ARTEMIS II – READ THE LATEST:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Earth<\/p>\n

The space agency confirmed the date the astronauts will set foot back down on Earth<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

NASA<\/p>\n

\"Earth<\/p>\n

Nasa has also released the first images from the mission\u2019s lunar flyby<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

NASA<\/p>\n

“The Artemis II crew are headed home. Splashdown will take place on Friday, April 10.”<\/p>\n

Nasa has also released the first images from the mission\u2019s lunar flyby, revealing parts of the Moon never before seen by humans, alongside a rare solar eclipse captured from space.<\/p>\n

The photographs, published on Tuesday, were taken on April 6 as the four-person crew spent seven hours passing the Moon\u2019s far side.<\/p>\n

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, used multiple cameras to capture thousands of images during the mission.<\/p>\n

\"Photos<\/p>\n

The crew documented impact craters, ancient lava flows and surface fractures on the Moon’s surface<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

NASA<\/p>\n

\"Eclipse<\/p>\n

The astronauts snapped rare photos of a solar eclipse captured from space<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

NASA<\/p>\n

\"Eclipse<\/p>\n

The astronauts captured detailed views of the Sun\u2019s corona during the eclipse <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

\u201cOur four Artemis II astronauts Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy took humanity on an incredible journey around the Moon and brought back images so exquisite and brimming with science, they will inspire generations to come,\u201d said Dr Nicky Fox, associate administrator at Nasa\u2019s Science Mission Directorate.<\/p>\n

During the fly-by, the crew documented impact craters, ancient lava flows and surface fractures, providing valuable data for scientists studying the Moon\u2019s geological history.<\/p>\n

They also observed variations in colour, brightness and texture across the lunar surface, as well as witnessing both an earthset and earthrise.<\/p>\n

The astronauts captured detailed views of the Sun\u2019s corona during the eclipse and reported seeing six meteoroid impacts on the Moon\u2019s darkened surface.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nasa has issued two major updates on the Artemis II crew as the astronauts continue their journey back…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[50,90,416,56,54,55,741,1384,231],"class_list":{"0":"post-519030","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-space","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-us-news","16":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}