NASA’s Artemis II mission may be focused on sending astronauts around the Moon, but early into the journey, attention shifted to something far more routine.
Shortly after launch on April 1, the crew began experiencing issues with the Orion spacecraft’s toilet system, a piece of equipment astronauts themselves often call one of the most important onboard.
The first problem appeared within hours, when part of the urine collection system failed to function properly. The issue was later traced back to the system not being fully primed with water, and once corrected, it began working again.
However, the situation didn’t end there. A few days into the mission, flight controllers identified another problem involving waste disposal, with signs pointing to frozen urine in the vent line.
To address it, the spacecraft was repositioned so sunlight could warm the affected area, allowing the system to clear. Around the same time, the toilet was only cleared for limited use, which quickly became a talking point online.
The crew also reported an unusual smell coming from the hygiene bay.
Astronaut Christina Koch described it as “a kind of burning heater smell,” though its exact source was never fully confirmed.
Mission control later noted there were no major concerns and cleared the system for continued use.
Even with the fixes in place, the updates were enough to catch attention outside the space community.
Online, people began drawing comparisons to fictional space mishaps, with one user jokingly referencing The Big Bang Theory, “Is this the Howard Wolowitz toilet?”
Here are all the memes sparked by the potty problem.
#4
17points
#14
6points
#15
5points
#17
4points
#19
3points
#20
3points