HOUSTON (AP) 鈥 Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts.
On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again.
The are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It is the in more than 53 years, picking up where left off.
鈥淭he Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger,鈥 pilot Victor Glover reported.
Until the Orion capsule's bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the backup urine collection bags. The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned following Wednesday鈥檚 liftoff and has been hit-and-miss ever since. A version of the Artemis II toilet was tested on the International Space Station several years ago.
Engineers suspect ice may be blocking the line that is preventing urine from completely flushing overboard. The toilet is still open for No. 2 business.
Debbie Korth, NASA鈥檚 Orion program deputy manager, said the astronauts have also reported a smell coming from the bathroom, which is buried in the floor of the capsule with a door and curtain for privacy.
鈥淪pace toilets and bathrooms are something everybody can really understand .. it鈥檚 always a challenge,鈥 she said, noting that the space shuttle toilet was also often on the fritz.
John Honeycutt, chair of the mission management team, said it is human nature to be interested in the space commode, and even though it is 鈥渋n a good state right now,鈥 he鈥檇 like it to be working at 100%.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e OK,鈥 he said of the astronauts. 鈥淭hey trained to manage through the situation.鈥
Artemis II is poised to set a distance record for humans, traveling more than 252,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon and heading home without stopping or entering lunar orbit. The record is currently held by Apollo 13.
The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country鈥檚 role in the mission, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.
鈥淭oday he is making history for Canada,鈥 Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell said. 鈥淎s we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada鈥檚 future is written by those who dare to reach for more.鈥
In the live televised linkup, Hansen said he has already witnessed 鈥渆xtraordinary鈥 views from NASA's Orion capsule.
Hansen, Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch are the world's first lunar astronauts since Apollo 17's crew of three in 1972. Koch and Glover are the first female and first Black astronauts to the moon, respectively.
Their nearly 10-day mission 鈥 ending with a Pacific splashdown on April 10 鈥 is the first step in NASA's bold plans for a sustainable moon base. The space agency is aiming for a landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028.
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