Artemis II’s Space Toilet Repaired: Essential Fix Ensures Comfort for Moonbound Astronauts

At Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA’s astronauts heading to the moon have more than just a successful launch to celebrate—their onboard toilet is now fully operational.

The toilet, affectionately dubbed the “lunar loo,” encountered issues immediately after the Artemis II crew reached orbit on Wednesday evening. With guidance from Mission Control, astronaut Christina Koch managed to troubleshoot and resolve the plumbing problem.

However, the crew is facing another challenge: the Orion capsule is quite chilly, with temperatures at a brisk 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). As a result, the four astronauts have resorted to unpacking long-sleeved clothing from their suitcases while Mission Control works to elevate the temperature.

The crew, comprising three Americans and one Canadian, is set to break free from Earth’s orbit on Thursday night, embarking on a flyby of the moon. This will mark Mission Control’s first translunar injection since the final Apollo mission in 1972.

In the meantime, the astronauts are relishing breathtaking views of Earth from tens of thousands of miles away. Koch communicated to Mission Control that they can see entire coastlines of continents and even spot the South Pole, a familiar region from her past explorations.

“It is just absolutely phenomenal,” radioed Koch, who spent a year at an Antarctic research station before joining NASA.

The mission is due to end with a Pacific splashdown on April 10. NASA is counting on the test flight to kickstart the entire Artemis program and lead to a moon landing by two astronauts in 2028. Orion’s toilet may need some design tweaks before that happens.

Located in the floor with a door and curtain for privacy, the capsule’s lone toilet is based on an experimental commode that launched to the International Space Station in 2020. That station potty barely saw any use and has been out of order for years.

Known as the universal waste management system, the compact toilet uses air suction instead of water and gravity to remove waste, similar to earlier space toilets. It’s also designed to better accommodate female astronauts.

Koch and her crewmates had to resort to a bag and funnel system for urinating until she got the toilet working overnight.

Any toilet – even a fitful one – is better than none if you ask any of the six surviving Apollo astronauts.

NASA’s Apollo capsules were too small to accommodate a commode, so the all-male crews relied on bags to relieve themselves throughout the lunar journey. These so-called Apollo bags were repurposed during NASA’s later space shuttle flights; they served as backup whenever the shuttle toilet acted up.

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