The four astronauts on the "Artemis 2" mission are encountering difficulties with the toilet as the Orion spacecraft’s bathroom system experiences repeated malfunctions. Reports indicate a smell beginning to emanate from the toilet located on the floor of the spacecraft while the vehicle has passed more than halfway en route to the far side of the Moon, aiming to set a new record for the longest human journey in over half a century.
Three American astronauts and one Canadian astronaut are steadily approaching the Moon, with arrival scheduled for Monday, 6 Apr 2024 GMT+7. They will carry out a mission to fly around the far side of the Moon, marking the first time in 53 years that humans have traveled to the Moon since the end of the Apollo program. This mission will travel more than 400,000 kilometers from Earth, surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13.
Amid the anticipated success, the team faces a problem "everyone understands but finds difficult to manage": the spacecraft’s toilet system has malfunctioned again, with issues first appearing shortly after the launch into space last Wednesday.
NASA engineers suspect that ice may be blocking the liquid waste pipe, preventing the complete disposal of urine outside the spacecraft. Flight control has instructed the astronauts to use an "emergency urine collection bag" as a temporary workaround. Solid waste disposal remains operational, but there are reports of odors beginning to spread from the toilet area on the spacecraft floor.
Nevertheless, the four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover (the first Black astronaut to go to the Moon), Christina Koch (the first female astronaut to go to the Moon), and Jeremy Hansen (the first Canadian to go to the Moon)—maintain excellent morale. They have been trained to handle unexpected situations like these.
A major step toward establishing a lunar base, the Artemis 2 mission is planned to last nearly 10 days and will conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on 10 Apr 2024 GMT+7. This mission represents NASA’s crucial first step toward building a sustainable base on the Moon, with the goal of landing humans on the Moon’s south pole by 2028.
/sourceAssociated Press