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Click for next article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Get the Space.com Newsletter Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter HOUSTON — A burning smell from the toilet is not something you'd want to experience on Earth, so when it happened to NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts on the way to the moon — well, you can bet Mission Control was listening. Late Friday (April 3), as NASA's Artemis 2 mission passed the halfway mark to the moon, the four astronauts on board reported a burning smell coming from their novel Orion space toilet . "For me, it was some sort of burning odor, and then it was definitely in the hygiene bay," said Artemis 2 mission specialist Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. "And when I opened up the hygiene bay, the rest of the crew could smell it pretty much immediately." The Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft as seen from its solar array cameras on the way to the moon. (Image credit: NASA) NASA astronaut Christina Koch , also an Artemis 2 mission specialist, told Mission Control that the smell seemed to originate from the toilet, and was similar to an odor the crew smelled on the first day of the mission. Koch described it as "the kind of burning heater smell," something that Hansen also confirmed. Hansen said he and the crew had been warned before flight of the potential for an odor similar to "when you turn on a heater that's been sitting for a while and … you smell that burnt smell that comes from that," he said. "And I do think it smells similar to that." Mission Control initially suspected the odor could be caused by orange insulation around the door to the hygiene bay containing Orion's toilet , but did say the astronauts could keep using the bathroom as usual. Get the Space.com Newsletter Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! "Overall, we don't have any major concerns," Mission Control radioed the crew. The Artemis 2 crew had a bit of trouble with their toilet on day one of their mission, when Koch worked with Mission Control to restore it quickly to service. The astronauts were advised overnight to use their contingency bags to collect urine if they had to pee, rather than the toilet. But that was due to an issue with the primary vent on Orion that dumps wastewater overboard, which may have built up ice around it. Mission Control was working on ways to heat the nozzle up with sunlight and heaters to clear any ice today. Artemis 2 astronaut Chistina Koch gazes at Earth from the window of the Orion capsule "Int
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