Moon-bound Artemis II crew copes with toilet issue in otherwise smooth flight
CBS News • • science
Key Points:
- The Artemis II crew aboard the Orion capsule reached a milestone by becoming closer to the moon than to Earth, enjoying views of the lunar far side as they prepare for their historic flyby.
- The astronauts faced ongoing issues with their space toilet, likely due to a frozen vent line, leading them to rely on collapsible contingency urinals (CCUs) while engineers attempted to thaw the system by reorienting the spacecraft for sunlight exposure.
- Orion's overall performance remains strong, with a planned trajectory correction canceled due to the spacecraft maintaining a near-perfect course, and crew members scheduled to manually pilot the capsule to provide feedback for future missions.
- The crew is preparing for video and camera mapping of the lunar surface during their scheduled close approach to the moon's far side on Monday, offering a unique human perspective on features never directly observed before.
- Veteran astronaut Don Pettit highlighted the importance of the CCU as a critical contingency in cislunar space, replacing the need for heavy diapers when the toilet system is compromised.
