Right now the Artemis II mission is going incredibly well in all areas except for one, the toilet.
Of all the things to have problems with on a spaceship the place where you pee and poo is quite far down the list of critical areas, but you try spending 10 days in a capsule with three other people when the loo is having problems.
The astronauts first made a 'grim discovery' that something was wrong with the toilet shortly after lift off, though fortunately they were able to get it fixed quickly as they discovered there just wasn't enough water in the system to prime the pump.
Having sorted that out there was an unfortunate update on the state of the loo recently as Christina Koch said there was a 'kind of burning heater smell' coming from the toilet a few times since then.
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Mission control has suggested this lavatory stench may be coming from the insulation on the loo door, with the crew of Artemis II cleared to keep using it.
Luckily it's not thought to be a 'major concern' and the fact that the one place fault can be found is the toilet is a sign that things are going rather well.
CNN highlighted that the loo has been a regular issue for space missions and getting a working system that keeps working is one of the toughest things about space travel.
It's certainly a preferred option to astronauts bagging up their poo, as it did nothing to stop the smell and sometimes an errant turd would be floating around the spacecraft's cabin.
Meanwhile, they continue on their course towards the far side of the Moon where they'll circle round and make a return journey where they ought to be back in a matter of days.
For the rest of us be thankful for gravity, modern plumbing and functional toilets that don't smell.
What's on the menu for the Artemis II crew?
Space food has always been an intriguing phenomenon for us with our feet firmly on Earth, and NASA has given an insight into what the astronauts on board the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission will be tucking into during their journey to and from the moon.
There are 189 unique menu items on offer to NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, which include more than 10 types of beverages and five different hot sauces. Yes, turns out hot sauce is just as important in space as it is here on Earth.
The most common food and drink items include:
- Tortillas
- Wheat flat bread
- Granola with blueberries
- Vegetable quiche
- Breakfast sausage
- Couscous with nuts
- Mango salad
- Barbecued beef brisket
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Cauliflower and butternut squash
- Tropical fruit salad
- Cookies
- Chocolate
- Green tea
- Coffee
- Lemonade
- Apple cider
- Mango-peach smoothie
The menu has been carefully curated by NASA experts to support crew health and performance during the mission around the Moon, while also considering shelf life, food safety, nutritional value, crew preferences, and compatibility with Orion’s mass, volume, and power requirements.
NASA explains that on a typical mission day, astronauts have scheduled time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Each astronaut is allotted two flavoured beverages per day, which may include coffee. This is limited due to upmass constraints, which restrict how much food and drink can be carried on board.
Fresh foods will not be on board as Orion does not have the required refrigeration.
Shelf-stable foods help manage food safety and quality throughout the intended shelf life in a compact, self-contained spacecraft, while also reducing the risk of crumbs or particulates in microgravity.
Joe Harker