"That was a great toilet": Artemis 2 commander gives high praise to the lunar restroom!
Urine was vented into space, creating a remarkably spectacular sight — "like billions of tiny ice shards flying toward deep space."
Article published on April 17 by Space News (USA).
The toilet aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 mission, nicknamed "Integrity," once became a star of the Artemis 2 mission.
After launch, a brief technical glitch drew media attention.
However, mission commander Reid Wiseman stated that the negative publicity the Artemis 2 space toilet has received over the past two weeks is unfair.
Wiseman spent some time defending the "Artemis 2" lunar toilet during a press briefing on April 16.
"I just want to say, absolutely honestly: that was a great toilet," Wiseman said. "It works wonderfully."
As you may already know, there were some waste management issues during the Artemis 2 mission.
But Wiseman emphasized that the problem wasn't with the toilet itself.
"The flush worked normally, but when liquid drained from the bottom of the toilet, our ventilation duct became blocked," he explained.
This ventilation duct transports urine from the toilet to the body of the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft, named "Integrity."
Subsequently, the urine was expelled into space, creating a striking visual spectacle.
"I mean, the view outside the window was fascinating," Wiseman said. "It looked like billions of tiny ice particles shooting off into deep space."
So what caused the vent blockage?
Initially, NASA suspected ice crystals had clogged the exhaust nozzle.
But even after internal heating of the affected area and tilting the spacecraft to expose the nozzle to sunlight, the issue persisted.
Therefore, current hypotheses now focus on chemical reactions — possibly triggered by chemicals added during wastewater processing to prevent biofilm formation.
NASA must wait until the team has a chance to conduct a thorough inspection before confirming the root cause, and they are currently doing so.
But regardless of the underlying cause, Wiseman believes the toilet team should be proud.
"Those brilliant engineers who built that toilet — I don’t want them feeling down. They should hold their heads high," he said. "It’s an outstanding piece of equipment."
His enthusiasm for the toilet is hardly surprising, as this toilet represents a significant leap forward compared to previous lunar missions.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1862755780305927/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.