NASA's Artemis II Gets Moon-Ready Toilet With a Door

Imagine traveling to the moon without a proper bathroom. For the Apollo astronauts of the 1960s and 70s, that nightmare was reality.

Those pioneers relied on plastic bags taped to their bodies and funnels that routinely failed. During Apollo 10, astronauts famously radioed about "a turd floating through the air." On Apollo 8, the crew chased down blobs of escaped waste drifting through their capsule.

NASA's post-Apollo reports called the system objectionable and distasteful. Astronaut Ken Mattingly summed up the misery during Apollo 16: "I used to want to be the first man to Mars. This has convinced me that if we got to go on Apollo, I ain't interested."

Fast forward to 2026, and NASA has finally solved the problem. The Artemis II mission will carry four astronauts around the moon with a bathroom that actually works like one back on Earth.

The Universal Waste Management System took more than a decade to develop. Collins Aerospace partnered with NASA starting in 2015 to create a toilet that could handle the unique challenges of space travel while offering basic dignity to its users.

The new system features handles to keep astronauts steady in microgravity. It processes urine and feces simultaneously, something earlier space toilets couldn't do. The design works for both male and female anatomy, fixing a longstanding oversight in spacecraft engineering.

And yes, it has a door. Not a curtain like the International Space Station's earlier models, but an actual door that gives astronauts a sense of privacy in their cramped capsule.

The toilet is 3D printed from titanium, making it lightweight but durable. Its standardized design means it can fit in multiple spacecraft types, from the Artemis Orion capsule to future Mars missions.

NASA tested an earlier version on the International Space Station in 2020, completing final installation in 2021. Project manager Melissa McKinley describes waste management as an evolution of design, with each generation learning from past mistakes and future needs.

The Ripple Effect

This innovation reaches far beyond basic comfort. A reliable bathroom system is considered mission critical by NASA. If it fails, the entire mission could be in jeopardy, according to science historian David Munns.

The success of this toilet will shape decades of space exploration. McKinley and her team are eager to hear feedback from the Artemis II crew, knowing their experience will guide waste management systems for future lunar bases and the eventual journey to Mars.

Sometimes progress means solving the unglamorous problems that make extraordinary journeys possible.