‘Space Plumber’ Christina Koch Details Artemis II Toilet Problems

Artemis II mission specialist Christine Koch has a new name to add to her CV – “space plumber” – now that she’s successfully solved the toilet problem on NASA’s rocket en route to the Moon.

Koch gave viewers a sneak peek after the Orion spacecraft’s porcelain throne — called the Universal Waste Management System — stopped working just a few hours after launch THURSDAY. Fortunately, Koch noted that this was a minor issue related to the toilet sitting too long. He just needed to warm up before the crew could warm up their seats!

We’ve told you all about toilet turbulence. potty problems forced the astronauts to keep number 1 or use a backup system until the problem was resolved, which took several hours.

Orion’s toilet is the first real toilet used for a moon flyby. It works by releasing urine into space, while storing solid waste in a canister that will be emptied once it returns to Earth on April 10.

Hopefully this is our one and only plumbing twist!