Artemis II Moon Flyby Goes On as Crew Tackles Toilet Troubles Live

Artemis II's crew continues its historic lunar flyby, with a livestream starting at 1 p.m. Eastern as four astronauts circle the Moon on a 10-day mission to test deep-space systems ahead of future crewed missions. The crew aboard the Orion capsule includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. On this mission, the quartet is looping around the Moon in the first crewed test flight of the Artemis program to return humans to deep space.

The voyage around the Moon is entering day five, a milestone as the team pushes farther than any crewed voyage since the Apollo era. The crew remains in a compact cabin roughly the size of a camper van—about 5 meters wide and 3 meters high—where every system is tested at close quarters. Engineers and mission controllers on Earth are guiding the spacecraft through a meticulously choreographed sequence that will set the stage for future landings and long-duration stays.

Yet the mission has encountered a hiccup that has become a talking point back on Earth: a hiccup with the Orion’s waste management system. A cold, intermittent fault in the toilet has prevented overboard dumping, likely stemming from a frozen vent line. To keep life aboard comfortable, astronauts have shifted to a temporary setup using collapsible plastic containers to collect urine. When the crew deputy described the situation, one of the crew members joked about being the space plumber, underscoring how even essential, mundane equipment can become a focal point in long missions. NASA has said engineers have been using vent heaters to melt potential clogs and to reconfigure the vent to point toward the Sun to aid clearing the line, without altering the craft’s trajectory.

Despite the toilet detour, the mission remains on track. The crew will experience a roughly 40-minute blackout in communications as they pass behind the Moon, a routine phase that cuts Earth-based contact but does not threaten the flight plan. Live updates and the team’s downlinks have kept audiences on the edge of their seats, blending technical detail with human moments of humor and resolve.

As Artemis II continues, observers will be watching not only for the science return but also for the resilience of a crew trusting a spacecraft that still feels like a prototype for humanity’s next giant leap. The next days will bring more flyby data, system tests, and, hopefully, a continued streak of calm under the watchful eye of mission control.

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