A video captures a lighthearted moment aboard the Orion spacecraft- astronaut Christina Koch floating inside the capsule, cheerful and composed, just hours after fixing the mission's first real problem: a jammed space toilet.
The post, posted by Reuters on X, shows the video source as Canadian Space Agency, which is also a part of the mission.
Koch, the only woman onboard the 10-day mission, first reported the issue to mission control when she noticed a blinking fault light. The toilet's fan had stopped working.
Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch fixed a toilet malfunction aboard Orion after launch, with mission control providing troubleshooting instructions to clear a jammed fan https://t.co/UV4rTu7knT pic.twitter.com/Oof5HI6igd
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 3, 2026
"The toilet fan is reported to be jammed," NASA spokesperson Gary Jordan was heard saying in the video during live mission commentary. "Now the ground teams are coming up with instructions on how to get into the fan and clear that area to revive the toilet for the mission."
The malfunction shut down the urine collection portion of the toilet aboard the Orion spacecraft, forcing the crew to use a backup system. However, NASA confirmed they could still go number two with no trouble.
According to NASA's director of flight operations Norm Knight, a controller issue on the toilet caused the malfunction. After a few hours of troubleshooting with Houston, the problem was fixed. Mission Control signed off with the message: "You are good to use toilet all night."
The toilet itself is actually a milestone. The last time a crewed flight went to the Moon, the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, astronauts had to poop into plastic bags. Advancements in space toilet technology have now given the Artemis II crew a real, working toilet for their 10-day journey. The high-tech system, called the Universal Waste Management System, was designed based on astronaut feedback about comfort and ease of use. It also comes with one quirky caveat, it is so loud the crew must wear ear protection while using it.
Meanwhile, sharing a glimpse of Earth from deep space, NASA posted image captured through the window of the Orion capsule. “We have spectacular new high-resolution images of our home planet, all of us looking back through the Orion capsule window at our Artemis II astronauts as they continue their journey to the Moon,” the agency said in a post on X.
Good morning, world! ????
— NASA (@NASA) April 3, 2026
We have spectacular new high-resolution images of our home planet, all of us looking back through the Orion capsule window at our Artemis II astronauts as they continue their journey to the Moon. pic.twitter.com/QjxGfWiRcS
ALSO READ: NASA's Artemis II With Four Astronauts Jets Off For Historic Moon Mission | Watch Video
The moon mission is one of the most significant space missions in half a century. NASA's Artemis II lifted off on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen — on a 685,000-mile, 10-day journey around the Moon. Koch is the first woman ever to leave low Earth orbit, while Glover and Hansen are the first non-American respectively to do so. The mission is paving the way for NASA's crewed Moon landing planned for 2028.
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