The space toilet is out of order again: the astronauts of the Artemis II mission cannot visit the toilet

The crew of the Artemis II mission encountered new technical difficulties during their flight to the moon. This time the problem with the toilet became more serious than before.

A spacecraft carrying out a flyby of a satellite has suffered its second liquid waste management system failure in less than a week. After the launch on April 1 and the first technical problem successfully fixed, the toilet failed again on the third day of the flight. According to mission director Judd Frieling, the cause of the failures is not only related to mechanical problems, but also to the freezing of liquid waste in the ventilation pipe, which makes it difficult to remove it normally into space.

As a result, the toilet can now only be used for solid waste, and liquid waste must be stored in special containers and temporary bags, a common emergency solution that the astronauts were prepared for during training.

In addition, mission participants reported a foul smell similar to hot plastic coming from the toilet area. Although NASA has not yet identified the exact cause of the smell, experts do not consider it to be life-threatening or the safety of spaceflight.

Considering the fact that Orion with four astronauts has already traveled a significant part of the way to the Moon, the problems with the toilet against the background of the difficult conditions of space indicate the difficulties associated with the operation of the most modern technologies. The cost of this system is estimated at 23-30 million dollars and is critical for ensuring the survival of astronauts during long missions.

NASA officials noted that none of the malfunctions affected the flight path and schedule of the mission, which is scheduled to end around April 10 with a landing in the Pacific Ocean. The Artemis II mission is the first manned mission to return humans to the Moon since the Apollo era, and aims to pave the way for a landing on the surface of Earth’s satellite in 2028.