How Will Artemis II Astronauts Use Toilet In Space?

When Apollo astronauts went to the Moon over 50 years ago, using the toilet meant pooping in plastic bags, in a very uncomfortable experience in front of crewmates. However, now when humans are going to moon for the first time in decades under the 2026 Artemis II mission, the space-toilet experience has been upgraded to replace the old unpleasant process.

NASA's Artemis II astronauts, who are on a 10-day journey around the Moon, will have access to a proper toilet with a door.

The Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), developed by Collins Aerospace, is 3D-printed from titanium and features a lightweight, standardised design. Unlike older systems, the UWMS allows astronauts to handle urine and feces simultaneously.

“We're pretty fortunate as a crew to have a toilet with a door on this tiny spacecraft," Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said, adding, “The one place that we can go during the mission where we can actually feel like we're alone for a moment.”

The toilet stall is the size of a phone booth, where astronauts could use a hose to dispose off urine and sit on an industrial-looking seat for pooping.

“You have a urine hose...It gets collected, and a few times a day, we vent that urine to space…The feces gets sucked down into the bottom into a bag, and you close that off and squish it down into the canister,” Hansen said. 

“During the mission, we will have to change out that solid waste canister a few times, and all of that will come back to Earth with us," he explained further.

Four astronauts have been selected for NASA’s Artemis II mission: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify today’s capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.

Also Read- Artemis II and the “Period of Loss”: What It Means for NASA’s Manned Moon Mission