NASA troubleshoots Artemis II toilet problem in otherwise smooth flight

The Artemis II astronauts, connected way for a formation astir the dark broadside of the moon Monday, faced a comparatively quiescent time aboard their Orion unit capsule Saturday portion engineers connected the crushed worked to lick a toilet issue.

Overnight, Artemis II commandant Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen reached a milestone of sorts connected their historical voyage to the moon.

"And Integrity, (this is) Houston, we person immoderate quality to stock with you," called spacecraft communicator Jackie Mahafey successful ngo control. "As of 30 seconds ago, you are present person to the satellite than you are to america connected Earth."

A camera connected the extremity of an Orion star helping shows the spacecraft and its people -- the satellite -- suspended successful achromatic of heavy space. NASA

"Wow, Jackie, convey you for sharing that with us," replied Koch. "We each benignant of had a collective, I guess, look of joyousness astatine that. It's hard to imagine, but we tin spot present connected our (instrumentation) that we are astatine 118,000 nautical miles (from the moon). So yeah, you tin bash the math."

The astronauts looked backmost toward Earth Friday and captured this stunning changeable of the location satellite arsenic a bladed crescent. NASA

She said the unit was enjoying views of the satellite done Orion's docking hatch window.

"It is simply a beauteous sight," Koch said. "We're seeing much and much of the acold side, and it's conscionable a thrill to beryllium here."

Astronaut Christina Koch takes successful a presumption of satellite Earth arsenic the Artemis II unit headed for heavy abstraction and a formation astir the acold broadside of the satellite Monday. NASA

The unit has had intermittent problems with their abstraction toilet since motorboat connected Wednesday, occasionally being told to debar its usage successful favour of collapsible contingency urinals, oregon CCUs, bags utilized for urine postulation that tin beryllium emptied to abstraction later.

Early Saturday, arsenic the unit was preparing for bed, formation controllers were incapable to dump the toilet's stored urine overboard arsenic needed, perchance due to the fact that of a frozen vent line. The astronauts were told, erstwhile again, to usage their CCUs until the occupation was resolved.

Later successful the day, aft unit wakeup, formation controllers re-oriented the Orion capsule to let sunlight to lukewarm up the discarded h2o vent enactment successful hopes of thawing immoderate frozen material. The process was referred to arsenic a "bake out."

Another star helping camera was aimed astatine the Orion spacecraft aft the vessel was maneuvered to enactment a discarded h2o vent nozzle successful nonstop sunlight. The extremity was to lukewarm it up capable to thaw retired suspected crystal successful a discarded enactment preventing formation controllers from emptying a urine postulation vessel utilized by the capsule's toilet. NASA

"We person accrued the heater temperatures connected the nozzle and the lines themselves, and we're hoping that if the occupation is the freezing of the vent lines ... past this volition springiness america a accidental to spot if we're capable to lick that," ngo power radioed the crew.

"We'll person the cameras connected it and we'll beryllium capable to instrumentality pictures of that. Due to each of this, we've replanned overnight, your timeline is going to beryllium a small spot successful flux. We're moving connected pulling immoderate things forward. Some things mightiness person to determination disconnected of the greeting due to the fact that of this maneuver."

Veteran astronaut Don Pettit said successful a societal media station connected X that a CCU is "essentially an unfastened instrumentality (reusable, sealable and drainable) that controls the urine-air interface utilizing capillary forces similar my Space Cup does coffee," helium said, referring to a cupful helium designed for drinking java successful weightlessness.

"When you are successful cislunar abstraction with a breached toilet," helium continued, "you request contingencies, and the CCU replaces the request for astir 25 pounds of diapers."

Otherwise, Orion was performing well. For the 2nd time successful a row, a planned trajectory correction thruster firing was called disconnected aft investigation showed the spacecraft was inactive connected a near-perfect trajectory.

Later Saturday, Wiseman and Glover planned to instrumentality a crook astatine manually piloting the Orion capsule to assistance engineers amended recognize however the spacecraft performs successful formation and to supply hands-on feedback for aboriginal Artemis astronauts.

All 4 unit members were expected to walk clip precocious successful the time reviewing their plans for video and camera mapping of the lunar aboveground erstwhile they walk down the satellite connected Monday. Close attack connected the acold side, astatine an altitude of astir 4,100 miles, is expected astatine 7:03 p.m. EDT.

The satellite has been observed successful large item by satellites astatine little altitudes, but the Artemis II unit volition person a unsocial accidental to observe features connected the lunar acold broadside that nary quality has ever straight experienced.

In:

• Artemis Program
• Space
• NASA