Glitch to the facilities quickly fixed, in relief to astronauts onboard Orion spacecraft
A blinking fault light on Nasa’s Orion spacecraft signalled an unwelcome setback at the start of the historic Artemis II mission: the toilet was out of order.
Fortunately for the four astronauts on board for the 10-day mission, the issue was quickly resolved, with mission control confirming: “Happy to report that toilet is go for use. We do recommend letting the system get to operating speed before donating fluid, and then letting it run a little bit after donation.”
And despite the shaky start, the spacecraft’s $30m Universal Waste Management System (UMWS) has been hailed as a leap forward in deep space toilet technology. The system was years in development and designed to improve on longstanding complaints from astronauts about onboard facilities.
On the Apollo missions, astronauts were required to pee into a condom-like contraption placed under the spacesuit (all Apollo crew being male). Solid waste was collected into a bag taped to the astronaut’s buttocks. The setup was prone to leaks, with one mission transcript recording an alarmed crew member noticing “a turd floating through the air”. And while a Nasa report concluded that the primitive setup had broadly met its objectives from a purely engineering standpoint, it “must be given poor marks” for crew satisfaction.
