A Smell in Space: The Artemis II Crew’s Unusual Experience
A peculiar smell reported by astronauts aboard the Artemis II mission, as they travel towards the moon, has been traced back to the rocket’s toilets. Christina Koch, one of the four crew members on the NASA mission, raised the alarm after detecting a ‘kind of burning heater smell’ coming from the lavatory on multiple occasions.
Back on Earth, mission control suggested that the source of the smell might be the insulation on the door to the toilet, which is referred to as a hygiene bay or the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS). Despite this, the onboard team did not believe it was the cause and have been cleared to continue using the lavatory for now.
This is not the first issue reported with the Orion spacecraft’s waste management system. Shortly after the mission began, a blinking fault light was observed in the toilet, raising concerns that the fan had jammed. This issue was later resolved by Ms. Koch with assistance from mission controllers in Houston.
Ms. Koch, who describes herself as the ‘space plumber’ on the craft, emphasized the importance of the toilet, stating, “We were all breathing a sigh of relief when it turned out to be just fine. It was just an issue of sitting for a long time, needing a little time to warm up, a priming issue.”
The situation is still under evaluation, but mission controllers do not consider the issue to be of ‘major concern.’ Ms. Koch is joined on the 10-day trip by Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover.
NASA has announced that the Orion spacecraft is more than halfway to the moon, where it will perform a flyby of the natural satellite. On Saturday afternoon, the crew members were entertained by being woken up to the sound of Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan.
So far, two ‘course corrections’ have been canceled—brief engine burns to keep the capsule on the right track. Instead, a check is being conducted on the capsule’s wastewater dumping system, following the fact that Orion was only able to dispose of three percent of its wastewater last night.
Orion is equipped with a five-cubic-foot toilet specifically designed for use in microgravity, located under the floor near the main hatch, hidden by a curtain. The toilet flush is so loud that crew members need to wear ear protection to use it. Solid waste is stored onboard in odour-controlled canisters, while pre-treated urine is disposed of overboard daily.
In the event that the UWMS breaks down, the astronauts must resort to Collapsible Contingency Urinal bags, which are thrown into space via designated chutes.
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