Artemis II astronauts share concerning update as they notice unexpected malfunction moments after lift off
Artemis II astronauts have shared an update on the malfunctioning toilet issue that was reported earlier this week.
The Artemis team - made up of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen - are on a 10-day mission around the Moon, aiming to go further into space than ever before.
While the mission seems to be going according to plan at present, the team did have a hiccup with the toilet system at the beginning of the trip. Once Artemis II had launched, the crew was meant to set up the toilet inside the capsule.
However, the capsule’s toilet system had a jammed fan, preventing normal urine disposal.
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“The toilet fan is reported to be jammed,” NASA spokesperson Gary Jordan stated during live mission commentary. “Now the ground teams are coming up with instructions on how to get into the fan and clear that area to revive the toilet for the mission.”
NASA was able to fix the issues in rapid time, however the toilet saga doesn't seem to be over just yet.
The astronauts have now noticed a burning smell coming from the toilet system, with the team issuing an update on Friday (April 3), according to Space.com.
"For me, it was some sort of burning odor, and then it was definitely in the hygiene bay," said Hansen.
"And when I opened up the hygiene bay, the rest of the crew could smell it pretty much immediately."
Meanwhile, Koch said the odor was similar to what they had been able to smell earlier on in the mission.
Hansen also explained that prior to takeoff, the crew has been warned of the potential of smelling an odor similar to 'when you turn on a heater that's been sitting for a while'.
"And I do think it smells similar to that," he said.
Koch added: “Regarding the smell, I just wanted to make sure you all were tracking the EGS notes of the kind of burning heater smell that was coming from toilet several times.
“It was never identified as the source, what it exactly was, but it was identified as an unknown smell."
Mission Control initially believed the odor could be caused by insulation around the door, and have said the astronauts can continue using the bathroom as normal.
Artemis II timeline: When will the crew reach the Moon?
After completing the translunar injection burn, the Artemis II crew have broken free of Earth’s gravity and are now on course for the Moon.
They are set to travel 250,000 miles from Earth, further than any human has ever gone before.
But what are the key milestones over the next few days, and what should we look out for back on Earth?
Friday April 3 - Saturday April 4
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be testing radio communications, and most importantly for us, taking lots of pictures out of the window of their spacecraft.
So expect some stunning photographs of the Earth and the Moon in deep space.
Sunday April 5
It’s an important day for the Artemis II crew - they’ll enter the lunar sphere of influence, which means the tug of the Moon’s gravity is stronger than Earth’s.
The crew will also be testing their spacesuits to make sure they’re in tip-top shape for re-entry next week.
Monday April 6
This is the big one! The Artemis II crew will pass around the far side of the Moon, the furthest from Earth anyone has ever gone before.
Commonly dubbed the dark side of the Moon - it isn’t actually dark and actually gets more sunlight than the side we do see.
It’s called this because, thanks to something called tidal locking, the same side of the Moon is always facing Earth, so we never get to see the other one.
The Artemis II crew will spend the day taking photographs of the lunar landscape, and there will be 40 mins where they will lose contact with Earth - which is sure to be squeaky bum time for the folks at NASA.
Tuesday April 7 - Thursday April 9
The astronauts begin their return journey to Earth.
Tuesday is the Artemis II crew’s day off after a full-on few days - though you have to imagine entertainment is scarce in the Orion spacecraft. No Netflix, unfortunately.
On Wednesday, the crew will practice building a radiation shelter, which would be able to shield them in the event of solar flares, test compression garments which should prevent dizziness on the return to Earth, and have a go at manually piloting the spacecraft.
Friday April 10
The Artemis II crew will be back on Earth in time for the weekend. This is the diciest section of the mission, with the Orion spacecraft exposed to temperatures of up to 3,000°F.
Once safely back in Earth’s atmosphere, parachutes will deploy and they’ll land in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, where NASA and the US Navy will be ready to pick them up.
Topics: Space, World News, News, Moon, NASA
Lucy Devine