US Artemis II’s moon trip faces challenging toilet mission again over flushing

Now more than halfway to the Moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts.On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again.The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It is the first Moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where Nasa’s Apollo programme left off.“The Earth is quite small, and the Moon is definitely getting bigger,” pilot Victor Glover reported.Until the Orion capsule’s bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the backup urine collection bags. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned following Wednesday’s lift-off and has been hit-and-miss ever since. A version of the Artemis II toilet was tested on the International Space Station several years ago.Engineers suspect ice may be blocking the line that is preventing urine from completely flushing overboard. The toilet is still open for No 2 business.Debbie Korth, Nasa’s Orion programme deputy manager, said the astronauts had also reported a smell coming from the bathroom, which is buried in the floor of the capsule with a door and curtain for privacy.