Houston, April 5 — More than halfway to the Moon, NASA’s Artemis II crew is preparing a historic fly‑around of the lunar far side that could send humans farther from Earth than ever before, aiming to exceed the distance record held by Apollo 13. The four‑person Orion spacecraft is due to swing around the Moon on Monday, April 6, photographing the mysterious far side before returning to Earth without entering lunar orbit. This is the first crewed mission to head for the Moon in more than 53 years.
“The Earth is quite small, and the Moon is definitely getting bigger,” pilot Victor Glover said as the spacecraft closed on its destination. The crew — three Americans and one Canadian — trained for contingencies, and Mission Control has instructed them to use additional backup urine collection bags after the Orion capsule’s toilet began malfunctioning following Wednesday’s launch.
Engineers suspect ice may be blocking a line that prevents urine from flushing overboard; the unit has been unreliable but remains available for solid‑waste needs. A version of the Artemis II toilet was previously tested aboard the International Space Station. Crew members have also reported an odor from the small bathroom, which sits in the capsule floor behind a curtain and a door.
“Space toilets and bathrooms are something everybody can understand… it’s always a challenge,” said Debbie Korth, deputy manager of NASA’s Orion program. John Honeycutt, chair of the mission management team, said the crew are handling the issue and he wants the system working perfectly but that “they’re OK” and trained to manage the situation.
Artemis II is expected to travel more than 252,000 miles (about 400,000 km) from Earth before performing a U‑turn behind the Moon and heading home, a distance that would surpass Apollo 13’s mark for the farthest humans have been from Earth. The Canadian Space Agency, speaking from Quebec, celebrated Canada’s role as astronaut Jeremy Hansen rides toward the lunar rendezvous; Hansen is the first non‑U.S. citizen to travel to the Moon.
Hansen, Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch are the first humans bound for the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. If the mission succeeds, Koch and Glover will become the first woman and the first Black astronaut to travel to the Moon, respectively, as the program resumes crewed lunar exploration. (AP)
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/04/06/pot-pourri-966/
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Publish Date: 2026-04-06 04:38:00
