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Image source: NASA
HOUSTON — The burning smell in the toilet is not something you want to experience on Earth, so when it happens to NASA’s Artemis 2 astronauts on their way to the moon, you can bet Mission Control is listening.
Friday night (April 3), NASA Artemis 2 mission Halfway to the moon, the four astronauts on board reported a burning smell coming from their novel Orion space toilet.
“To me, it was some kind of burning smell, and it was definitely in the health module,” said an Artemis 2 mission expert. Jeremy Hanson of the Canadian Space Agency. “When I opened the sanitary pod, the rest of the crew could smell it almost immediately.” (You can check out our latest updates below Our Artemis 2 mission updates page.)
Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft on its way to the moon, as captured from the solar array camera. |Image source: NASA
NASA astronaut Christina KochHe, also an Artemis 2 mission expert, told mission control that the smell appeared to be coming from the toilet and was similar to what the crew smelled on the first day of the mission.
Koch described it as “that burning heater smell,” which Hansen confirmed.
Hansen said he and the crew were warned before the flight about the possibility of an odor similar to “when you turn on a heater that’s been sitting around for a while… you get that burning smell that comes from that,” he said. “And I do think it smells similar.”
Mission Control initially suspected the smell might be caused by orange insulation around the door. Toilet cubicle containing Orion toiletbut did say astronauts could continue to use the bathroom as usual.
“Overall, we don’t have any major issues,” mission control radioed to the crew.
Artemis 2 crew There’s something wrong with their toilets On their first day on the mission, Koch worked with Mission Control to quickly return it to service.
It is recommended that astronauts use emergency bags to collect urine when urinating at night rather than using the toilet. But that’s due to problems with the main vents on the Orion, which dump wastewater onto the ship and could form ice around it. Today, mission control is working on ways to heat the nozzles with sunlight and heaters to clear the ice.
Artemis 2 astronaut Chistina Koch gazes at Earth from the Orion capsule’s “Integrity” window. |Image source: NASA
four Artemis 2 astronauts — NASA Commander Reed Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover The astronauts woke to the tune of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” today at 12:35 pm EDT (1635 GMT) for the fourth day of their 10-day lunar mission, with mission control playing the song as a wake-up call but cutting off before the chorus.
“We’re all eagerly awaiting the chorus,” Wiseman said.
NASA has shared some stunning new images of Wiseman and Koch gazing at Earth from the windows of Orion as they continue their journey away from home.
Artemis 2 commander Reed Wiseman bids farewell to Earth through the Orion window. |Image source: NASA
Astronauts are brushing up on lunar geography today in preparation for their lunar observations on Monday (April 6), when they will be closest to the moon. moon. The astronauts will fly over the moon to within more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) of the lunar surface before returning to Earth.
All four astronauts will also manually fly Orion today, NASA officials said.
Mission Control today canceled a planned exercise to refine Orion’s lunar course, apparently because it was still on such a precise flight path. As of press time, Orion is approximately 107,922 miles (173,683 kilometers) from the Moon and its vicinity, and approximately 172,217 miles (277,156 kilometers) from Earth.
Artemis 2 is NASA’s first manned flight Orion spacecraft (The crew gave their name to “Integrity”), and Perfectly launched on April 1st Was NASA’s first manned flight space launch system Giant rocket.
The flight was NASA’s first astronaut mission to the moon Apollo 17 In 1972, the agency planned to return humans to the lunar surface in 2028 and establish a permanent lunar base in 2032.
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