Artemis II crew reports burning smell from $23M space toilet
05 Apr 2026

Astronauts aboard the Artemis II mission have reported a strange burning smell coming from their spacecraft's advanced toilet system.

The issue comes just days after the $23 million waste management unit experienced an earlier malfunction shortly after launch.

Astronaut Chrisna Koch, who had previously repaired the toilet during this mission, alerted Mission Control about the smell on Saturday.

Smell like old electric heater, says Koch
Odor description

Koch described the smell as a kind of burning heater smell coming from the toilet multiple times.

The astronauts said it smelled like an old electric heater that had not been used in a long time.

However, Koch clarified that while it was identified as an unknown smell, its exact source remains unidentified.

Mission Control investigates possible sources
Investigation underway

In light of the strange smell, Mission Control began investigating possible sources within the hygiene area.

Initially, NASA flight controllers suspected that the burning smell could be coming from orange insulation on the toilet's hygiene bay door.

However, despite these theories and ongoing investigations, no definitive source for the odor has yet been determined.

Toilet malfunction on April 1
System issues

Notably, this isn't the first issue with the toilet system on Artemis II.

Shortly after launch on April 1, the urine hose of the Upper Waste Management System malfunctioned. However, Koch was able to fix it the next day.

Despite these technical glitches and the unexplained smell, NASA has assured that there are no major concerns regarding their impact on mission safety or operations.