Artemis II astronauts prepare to head for the moon after toilet and email issues

“There were no issues with the vehicle itself,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Wednesday in a post-launch news briefing. “Comms with the crew have been restored. We’re actively working the issue.”

The crew also reported a blinking fault light while they were testing their onboard toilet Wednesday.

Called the Universal Waste Management System, the toilet on the Orion capsule is designed to vent urine overboard and store feces until the crew’s return. It is separated by a door located on the capsule’s floor to allow for some privacy. A similar toilet has been tested on the International Space Station.

Mission managers worked with the astronauts to assess the problem overnight, and NASA confirmed early Thursday that the crew was able to restore the space toilet to normal operations.

If it had not been fixed, the backup plan was for the crew to use what NASA calls “collapsible contingency urinals” to collect urine in bags. The toilet would still have been used for fecal collection.

A view of the Earth’s horizon from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the first hours of the Artemis II test flight. — A view of the Earth’s horizon from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it orbits during the first hours of the Artemis II flight.NASA Youtube

A third issue that cropped up may feel the most relatable to many people on Earth: While the astronauts were setting up their computers, they requested tech support from Mission Control. The culprit? Microsoft Outlook.

“I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working,” Wiseman, the mission’s commander, radioed to the ground.

Mission controllers were eventually able to gain remote access into the computers and bring Outlook back online for the astronauts.

A view over the shoulders of NASA astronauts Victor Glover (left) and Reid Wiseman (right), pilot and commander, respectively, inside the Orion spacecraft.NASA

With those early glitches solved quickly and now behind them, a major milestone awaits the the Artemis II astronauts on the second day of their mission.

After getting some sleep, astronauts got their wakeup call Thursday at 2:35 p.m. ET. They woke to the song “Green Light” by John Legend and messages from NASA employees and members of the teams that helped them get to space. Glover thanked them for the kind words.

Less than two hours later, mission managers in Houston met to decide whether to go through with a powerful engine burn that will set the Orion capsule on a path around the moon.

The team polled “go.”

The maneuver, known as a translunar injection burn, is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. ET and will last just under six minutes. Orion’s main engine will fire, boosting the capsule’s velocity enough to send it out of Earth orbit.

A view of the Earth from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it orbits above the planet during the Artemis II test flight. — A view of the Earth from NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it orbits the planet.NASA

It’s a crucial engine burn — and the last of this magnitude during the mission — because the Artemis II mission’s path through space relies on the gravitational pulls of Earth and the moon. As such, once the translunar injection burn happens, the astronauts will be on an irreversible journey around the moon.

“Flight controllers will closely monitor engine performance, guidance, and navigation data throughout the maneuver to ensure Orion remains precisely aligned for the outbound journey,” NASA officials said in a blog post.

If successful, the Artemis II astronauts will become the first crew to journey toward the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

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