Artemis flight director shares update on unexpected malfunction
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Artemis II flight director has shared an update on the unexpected malfunction that was noticed by crew just moments after lift off last week.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen departed from Florida last Wednesday (April 1) for a voyage to the Moon.
Tuesday (April 7) saw an historic flyby of the moon, which followed the astronauts capturing an incredible image of Earth, which many people on social media had a lot to say about.
The trip has even seen the astronauts receive a call from Donald Trump, as everyone back home follows their progress.
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Shortly after the spacecraft lifted off last week, the crew noticed a bit of a problem with the toilet.
To begin with, the astronauts told mission control: "Toilet is powered, waste tank emerged."
Then, an amber warning light appeared on the loo, but thankfully those onboard were able to provide a fix to ensure it was in working order.
The crew reported a 'blinking fault light and mission control teams successfully assessed the data and worked with the crew to troubleshoot and resolve the issue'.
Koch was credited for being astronaut to save the day, but it appears all was not fixed after all.
While the astronauts are able to use the loo, Artemis 2 Flight Director Rick Henfling explained in a press conference on Tuesday how the crew are still facing some challenges.
"The toilet remains operational," Henfling explained. "The challenge that we're working through is evacuating the tank. The vent is a lot less than we were expecting, and so we're having to fall back to some other alternate means, other than the toilet."
NASA had previously said the capsule’s toilet system had a jammed fan, preventing a normal urine disposal.
“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.”
The astronauts have also noticed a burning smell coming from the toilet system, with Hansen providing an update on the situation on Friday (April 3).
He said: "For me, it was some sort of burning odor, and then it was definitely in the hygiene bay.
"And when I opened up the hygiene bay, the rest of the crew could smell it pretty much immediately."