A malfunction in the waste management system aboard NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft occurred shortly after the crew reached orbit Wednesday evening, prompting astronauts and Mission Control to work through repairs. The issue was resolved after astronaut Christina Koch carried out troubleshooting procedures guided from the ground.

Until the system was restored, the four astronauts were required to use a temporary bag-and-funnel method for waste collection, a backup approach similar to those used in earlier space missions.

In addition to the toilet issue, temperatures inside the Orion capsule have remained lower than expected, hovering around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. NASA teams are working to make adjustments to improve onboard conditions.

The Artemis II mission, carrying three American astronauts and one Canadian, is currently in Earth orbit and preparing for a translunar injection maneuver that will send the crew on a trajectory toward the moon. The flight marks NASA’s first crewed mission beyond low-Earth orbit since the Apollo program ended in 1972.

Astronauts have reported expansive views of Earth from tens of thousands of miles above the surface. Koch noted that entire coastlines and even polar regions are visible from the spacecraft.

The mission is scheduled to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10 and is considered a key test flight for NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface later this decade.

The Orion spacecraft’s toilet system, known as the universal waste management system, relies on air suction rather than gravity and is designed to accommodate a broader range of astronauts. The technology builds on systems previously tested aboard the International Space Station.

The incident underscores the technical challenges involved in long-duration human spaceflight, particularly as NASA prepares for more complex missions to the moon and eventually Mars.