If you were stuck inside a capsule hurtling to the Moon and back with three other astronauts, having a functioning toilet would be a priority on the list of creature comforts. The ten-day flyby voyage of NASA’s Artemis II has already hit a slight snag after its launch on Wednesday, when the toilet jammed. While Christina Koch was able to troubleshoot the issue with Mission Control, one astronaut had to go “Apollo-style” in the meantime.
The Universal Waste Management System, NASA’s official name for the Orion capsule toilet, is built into a tiny, insulated, floor-mounted cabin. The system itself is so loud that astronauts have to wear hearing protection when they use it. In a weightless environment, the toilet relies on airflow to function. When an astronaut does climb into M. C. Escher’s interpretation of an airplane lavatory, they need to bring a personal funnel to urinate into. A fan then draws the urine into a collection tank. According to Space.com, the fan jammed.
The backup system traces its roots back to the Apollo era
NASA anticipated a potential toilet bay issue and stored a backup system onboard: the Collapsible Contingency Urinal. The device is as straightforward as it sounds. It’s a bag that astronauts can pee into. There are male and female version is accommodate different anatomy. The CCU also has a drain port at the bottom so urine can be vented into the space. The space agency confirmed that number two was still fine in the toilet despite the malfunction. Norm Knight, NASA’s director of flight operations, said, “The fecal collection of the toilet, that specific capability, can still be used with the waste management system aboard Orion.”
The CCU is much different than how the Apollo astronauts used the toilet during their missions to the Moon. Those brave spacefarers had to use the Defecation Collection Device, basically a plastic bag taped to their asses. Once they finished their business, the astronaut opened an antibacterial packet and poured the solution inside. The bag was then kneaded, put into another bag and stored. Urine was a simpler matter, where it was collected through a hose and vented into space. On Artemis II, Koch did tell Mission Control that one astronaut used a CCU before the toilet fan was fixed. A half century later, we’re still venting pee into the final frontier.
