The four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission have enjoyed a relatively calm journey through space so far, with only minor in-flight issues reported. But one problem has stood out — the toilet.
The crew’s Orion capsule, measuring 16.5 feet (5 metres) wide, encountered a waste management issue late Friday night as Day 3 of the mission was winding down, reports CNN.
“It’s an issue with dumping the waste out of the toilet,” Artemis II Flight Director Judd Frieling told reporters Saturday morning. “And so, it appears to me that we probably have some frozen urine in the vent line.”
At the time, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen were asleep nearly 200,000 miles (320,000 kilometres) from Earth.
Mission controllers worked on a solution and by Saturday afternoon had devised a plan: rotate the capsule so that sunlight could thaw the frozen line. The maneuver worked, unclogging the pipe and allowing urine to be expelled outside the capsule. Afterward, mission control declared the toilet was “go” — but “for fecal use only.”
Next stop: lunar flyby.
The Orion spacecraft recently ignited its main engine on the service module for about six minutes to provide about 6,000 pounds of thrust. This maneuver not only sets the Artemis II astronauts on the path to the Moon. It also puts the crew in a free… pic.twitter.com/cWTfpzGC7d
— NASA (@NASA) April 3, 2026
Earlier in the mission, Koch had shown the process of venting urine on camera, describing how it sparkled like glowing gems as it drifted past Orion’s windows.
The crew also reported a burning smell from the bathroom, though controllers suggested it was likely gasket material near the door.
This was not the first toilet-related hiccup. Shortly after launch from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, the astronauts discovered the toilet pump wasn’t working. In space, pumps are critical because gravity cannot assist with waste removal.
The fix turned out to be simple: the crew had not added enough water to prime the pump. Once corrected, the system worked as intended.
It’s not a straight shot to the far side of the Moon! 🌕
Over approximately 10 days, the Artemis II astronauts will orbit Earth twice before looping around the far side of the Moon in a figure eight and returning home. pic.twitter.com/udjejhxgVx
— NASA (@NASA) April 2, 2026
Koch later joked saying, “I’m proud to call myself the space plumber. We were all breathing a sigh of relief when it turned out to be just fine. We did originally think that there could have been potentially something fouling up the motor. Luckily, we are all systems go.”
For astronauts, the toilet is considered one of the most vital pieces of equipment. “I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board,” Koch added during her Thursday dispatch from Orion.
With Orion’s toilet temporarily limited, the crew has had to rely on backup systems reminiscent of the Apollo era. In the 1960s, astronauts used fecal bags, a system later described as “very distasteful” in NASA reports.
The Artemis II crew is now using a modern contingency device known as the Collapsible Contingency Urinal (CCU).
Toilet troubles are not unique to Orion. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has also faced hygiene system failures, including a leaky urine tube in 2021 that forced astronauts to use backup undergarments. Even the Inspiration4 mission in 2022 had to troubleshoot toilet issues.
NASA’s current system aboard Orion builds on decades of development, including technology from the Space Shuttle program and the International Space Station.
Collins Aerospace holds a $30 million contract to design the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) for Orion, which vents urine into space while compacting solid waste for return to Earth.
