A Burning Smell Halfway to the Moon

NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts briefly raised eyebrows at Mission Control when they reported a burning odor coming from the toilet aboard the Orion spacecraft. On the evening of April 3, during the fourth day of their 10-day lunar mission, the crew detected an unusual smell from the hygiene bay housing Orion's toilet.

Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen described it as "some sort of burning odor" that became apparent when he opened the hygiene bay door. Fellow mission specialist Christina Koch told Mission Control the smell seemed to originate from the toilet and was similar to one the crew noticed on day one. Both astronauts likened it to the smell of a heater that had been sitting unused — something Hansen noted the crew had been warned about before launch.

Mission Control suggested the orange insulation around the hygiene bay door might be the source, while clearing the crew to continue using the bathroom normally. "Overall, we don't have any major concerns," Mission Control confirmed.

Not the First Toilet Trouble

This wasn't Artemis 2's first bathroom episode. On day one, Koch worked with Mission Control to restore the toilet to service after a potential ice buildup formed around the primary vent used to dump wastewater overboard. The crew was briefly advised to use contingency bags for urine collection, while Mission Control worked on heating the nozzle to clear the blockage.

Despite these minor hiccups, the mission itself is proceeding smoothly. As of April 3, Orion was approximately 173,683 km from the moon and 277,156 km from Earth — well past the halfway point. Mission Control even canceled a planned trajectory correction maneuver because the spacecraft's flight path was already so precise.

Preparing for Lunar Approach

The crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Koch and Hansen — woke to Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club" as their wake-up call, cut off just before the chorus. "We were all eagerly awaiting the chorus," Wiseman said.

All four astronauts took turns manually flying Orion and spent the day studying lunar geography in preparation for their closest approach to the moon on April 6, when they will pass within roughly 6,400 kilometers of the lunar surface before turning back toward Earth.

Artemis 2 marks the first crewed flight of both the Orion spacecraft — nicknamed "Integrity" by the crew — and NASA's Space Launch System mega-rocket, following a flawless launch on April 1.