Marcia Dunn
Houston: Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts are prepared 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 and one Canadian are set to reach their destination on Monday, 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 Victor Glover reported.
Until the Orion capsule’s bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the back-up urine collection bags. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned after Wednesday’s lift-off 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.
London’s Telegraph reports that the Artemis crew strap themselves into a specialised seat that sucks stools into a smell-free container. For urine, each astronaut has their own personal funnel with a fan that draws the liquid into a tank, before it is jettisoned into space, it reports.
Engineers suspect ice may be blocking the line, preventing urine from completely flushing overboard. The toilet is still open for No.2 business.
NASA’s Orion program deputy manager, Debbie Korth, said the astronauts 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.
John Honeycutt, chair of the mission management team, said it was human nature to be interested in the space commode, and even though it was “in a good state right now”, he’d like it to be working at 100 per cent.
“They’re OK,” he said of the astronauts. “They trained to manage through the situation.”
Artemis II is poised to set a distance record for humans, travelling more than 400,000 kilometres 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.
The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country’s role in the mission, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-US citizen to fly to the moon.
“Today he is making history for Canada,” Canadian Space Agency president Lisa Campbell said. “As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’s future is written by those who dare to reach for more.”
In the live televised link-up, Hansen said he has already witnessed “extraordinary” views from NASA’s Orion capsule.
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.
Their nearly 10-day mission – ending with a Pacific Ocean splashdown on April 10 – 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.
