Why Artemis II’s toilet is a major milestone

(NEXSTAR) – NASA’s Artemis II mission successfully launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, marking a major milestone in humans returning to the moon.

Artemis II is historic in many ways, from the diversity of its crew to the distance they will travel in the next 10 or so days. A very specific and notable novelty on this space flight that the crew may be especially thankful for is something you may take for granted: a working toilet, with a door.

While space toilets are nothing new – including Orion’s, there are now 10 galactic commodes – the newest among them make Artemis II the first mission orbiting the moon to have such an accommodation.

That’s because Artemis II is the first launch to the moon since the Apollo program in the 1970s, and Apollo didn’t have toilets.

Astronauts during Apollo missions used urine collection and transfer devices and plastic fecal bags. The latter bags, after use, were stored in a sanitation box on the spacecraft, according to the National Air and Space Museum.

They weren’t exactly foolproof, either, with a loose turd causing a stir on the Apollo 10 mission. Transcripts from the crew show nobody claimed responsibility in 1969, and the guilty astronaut remains unknown today, according to reports.

Thankfully, there have been advancements in space technology over the last five decades.

In 2020, the latest space toilet, known as the Universal Waste Management System, became available. NASA brought the UWMS to the International Space Station and to the Artemis II flight.

On the ISS, the system can treat urine and recycle the water for use, including for consumption by the astronauts, NASA explains. Aboard Artemis, which is spending far less time in space than the ISS, the system stores waste for disposal and vents urine overboard.

The UWMS works like a vacuum, using air flow to “pull urine and feces away from the body and into the proper receptacles.” Updates to the system included a “more ergonomic design” that, despite its smaller size, is “ideal” for space conditions to “make sure everything goes where it should.”

As luxurious as the space toilet may be in comparison to the plastic bags used by the Apollo crew, it has its drawbacks.

“You need handholds, because you’re just floating up all over the place,” Mission Spc. Christina Koch explained in a video for National Geographic prior to taking off. “Also, you can’t tell which way is up.”

Previous space toilets came with straps that astronauts would place across their thighs to keep them seated. NASA said in 2020 that foot restraints and handholds were swapped in for the UWMS following “consistent astronaut feedback.”

The toilet, located in the floor of the Orion capsule, is “a little bit on the loud side,” Koch said, meaning the crew has to wear ear protection while using the loo. It comes complete with a door and a curtain for privacy.

“We’re making that work,” she added. “It’s just another thing we have to coordinate with each other.”

In a potentially unfortunate throwback to Apollo, Koch was advised by Mission Control to use a handheld bag-and-funnel system overnight after a malfunction with the toilet system.

Koch reported that Orion’s toilet shut down seconds after she activated it when they reached orbit Wednesday night. After executing plumbing tricks from Mission Control, Koch was able to fix the toilet, likely to the relief of her and her fellow astronauts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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