Artemis 2 astronauts face toilet malfunction aboard Orion capsule

The return flight to Earth could have gone perfectly for the astronauts of the Artemis 2 mission, but aboard the Orion capsule, a crucial piece of equipment — the toilet — is malfunctioning, likely due to an unexpected chemical reaction, AFP reported Thursday.

The four crew members boarded on April 1 for a roughly ten-day space journey inside Orion, a cabin about the size of a van. However, in the first hours of flight, astronauts noticed a malfunction in the toilet system. American astronaut Christina Koch decided to take matters into her own hands and repair the system, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

“I’m proud to call myself a space plumber,” she said at the time. “I like to remind people it’s the most important piece of equipment on board,” she added, noting the crew felt relieved when the issue seemed resolved.

However, the problem — affecting urine disposal but not solid waste (which uses a separate line) — reappears when they attempt to evacuate wastewater, which is normally released into space.

Sanitation has thus become a recurring topic in NASA press briefings in Houston. This is the same center that received the famous message “Houston, we have a problem” from Jack Swigert in 1970.

Christina Koch described a smell similar to a “burnt radiator.” Mission control activated Plan B, asking astronauts to use portable, personal, reusable emergency toilets.

“The toilet still works. The issue we’re facing is disposing of the wastewater tank,” explained NASA official Rick Henfling. “So we have to rely on alternatives to the main toilet.”

Initially, engineers suspected ice formation might be blocking the pipe. The capsule was oriented toward the Sun to melt potential ice, and heaters were activated — but the blockage persisted.

A new theory suggests a chemical reaction may be causing debris to clog a filter.

“These toilets, estimated at around $23 million, are similar to those used on the International Space Station. However, this is the first time they’ve been used so far from Earth,” Henfling explained.

Astronauts during the Apollo era used special waste bags instead.

The Orion toilet, located in the cabin floor, is also so loud that ear protection is required during use.

Still, as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen noted before launch, it remains “the only place during the mission where you can truly be alone for a short time.”

Solid waste is stored in bags that will return to Earth with the astronauts.

NASA official Lori Glaze said that once the capsule returns to Earth, engineers will be able to “intervene and determine the source” of the problem.