New Delhi: The Artemis II mission is proceeding smoothly, with the crew of four Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover carefully checking every system and subsystem on the brand new Orion spaceship developed for NASA’s ambitious programme to return to the Moon and establish a permanent human presence. The battery of tests included how much noise the toilet makes. During the checkout procedures after the launch, the crew reported a blinking fault light at the toilet, which was resolved after the demonstration of proximity operation on the first day of the mission. The crew has now reported fresh issues with the toilet.
A mockup of the toilet on the Artemis II mission. (Image Credit: NASA).
On flight day two, when venting the wastewater attached to the toilet, the crew discovered a blockage. The teams suspected it was because of a buildup of ice. The crew stored wastewater in contingency collapsible urine devices that have been loaded onto the spaceship, which is similar to what the crew did on flight day one. The crew responded by orienting the spacecraft in a direction that allowed sunlight to fall on the vent, which partially cleared the blockage. The crew intends to only clear half the wastewater tanks while the issue is resolved. The crew has also reported a dusty heater or mechanical coming from the hygiene bay area, and the investigation is ongoing to identify the source, with gas analysers showing no hazardous conditions or air quality issues.
Interest in Toilets is Human
The toilet is operable, and there is sufficient redundancy to get through the mission. These problems are frequent in spaceflight, and has previously been seen on the Space Shuttle as well. Responding to the significant interest on the toilet on board the mission on the internet, Artemis II Mission Management Team Chair John Honeycutt said, “I think the fixation on the toilet is kind of human nature. I mean everybody knows how important that is to us here on Earth, and it is harder to manage in space. I am interested in it. I know we are in a good state right now, but I would really like it to be in the best state that it can be, for the crew’s sake. It is already a bit like camping in space, but it makes the camping a little bit tougher to not have the full capability of the toilet, but they are okay and they are trying to manage through the situation.”