On NASA’s Moon Mission, the Biggest Headache Has Been the Toilet

NASA astronaut Christina Koch inside the Orion spacecraft on the third day of the agency’s Artemis II mission, on April 3.Source: NASA

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April 5, 2026 at 4:20 PM UTC

As NASA’s Artemis II astronauts make their way to the moon this weekend, their test flight has gone surprisingly well without any major issues, save for one piece of technology giving the crew some grief: the toilet.

The Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule that’s carrying the Artemis II crew to the moon is equipped with what’s known as the Universal Waste Management System for the astronauts to use during the 10-day mission. It’s roughly the same space toilet that’s used on the International Space Station.