Artemis II astronauts race toward historic moon record—but their toilet woes spark a meme frenzy
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft stand vertical on mobile launcher 1 at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth. PHOTO: NASA
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts are closing in on a historic lunar flyby, but not without an unusual setback—the spacecraft’s toilet is once again malfunctioning.
Now more than halfway to the Moon, the crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—are preparing to loop around the Moon and capture images of its far side. The mission marks the first time humans have traveled this far since Apollo 17.
However, the Orion spacecraft’s toilet has been unreliable since launch, forcing astronauts to rely on backup urine collection bags. Engineers suspect ice buildup may be blocking the system, preventing proper flushing. While the toilet remains usable for solid waste, crew members have also reported an unpleasant odor.
🚨#BREAKING: Crews on the Artemis II mission are reporting that the onboard toilet is broken again with a frozen vent believed to be the cause of the latest malfunction. pic.twitter.com/UOkJQ1Ot4Y
The issue has also sparked a wave of memes online, with social media users joking about the “space toilet saga” even as the mission makes history.
In solidarity with the Artemis II crew and their damaged toilet, I will not be pooping during the next 10 days.
— scrumble_eggs 🇵🇸 (@scrumble_eggs) April 2, 2026How the toilet REALLY got fixed on Artemis II: pic.twitter.com/7zpyDGuEte
— D.L. Campanile (@DLCampanile) April 6, 2026Breaking: Artemis II crew successfully fixed the toilet — mission accomplished 🚽👍 pic.twitter.com/lXRJ4IE70o
— DD 🦅 🇺🇸 (@SWCEAGLE) April 2, 2026This mission to the moon is full of sh*t. https://t.co/yQLG7jWKWM
— Masked Smiley Face (@BlooKangaroo) April 2, 2026I can't wait for the Netflix documentary about the crew on the Artemis II mission having a broken toilet that smells terrible. https://t.co/aYzmQ6Tnlb pic.twitter.com/QX2FlInm3Y
Despite the setback, mission officials say the astronauts are managing the situation as trained, noting that such challenges are not uncommon in spaceflight.
The mission is still on track to set a new distance record, traveling over 252,000 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13, before looping behind the Moon and heading back.
The nearly 10-day mission, set to conclude with a Pacific Ocean splashdown on April 10, is a key step toward NASA’s long-term goal of returning humans to the lunar surface and establishing a sustainable presence