The Artemis II crewed spacecraft, which is sending humans back to the Moon for the first time in half a century, has been equipped with a special amenity unimaginable in earlier eras: a toilet.
A toilet has been installed in the Orion capsule of Artemis II, marking the first restroom in deep space, according to the New York Times and other international media outlets on Sunday.
During the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, astronauts had no dedicated toilet facilities. They had to use waste bags to handle bodily functions. Urine was collected in pouches, and feces were deposited into plastic bags taped to the body — a rather primitive method. The waste was left behind on the lunar surface.
By contrast, the new toilet occupies a relatively cramped space of approximately 9.3 cubic meters but comes equipped with a titanium toilet seat, a suction hose and a partition for privacy. Handrails and foot restraints are also installed to keep the body anchored in zero gravity.
The toilet's design is similar to the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) used in the U.S. segment of the International Space Station (ISS). Urine travels through a suction device and hose before being vented into space. Feces are sucked downward into a bag, sealed and stored. The waste is then returned to Earth at the end of the mission.
Astronaut Jeremy Hansen shared his thoughts on the spacecraft's toilet before launch. "It's a luxury to have a toilet with a door on this small spacecraft," Hansen said. "It's the one place where you can feel alone, even briefly, during the mission."
