Technology News

Let's Talk About Artemis II

Connor Schuler

07 Apr 2026 • 2 min read

At 1:57pm EST yesterday Artemis II astronauts broke Apollo 13’s distance record. However, the trip hasn't been completely smooth sailing, and has had several funny moments.

Surprise Nutella Jar

In what might be the best unintentional advertising ever, right before setting the distance record, a Nutella jar was spotted floating through the Orion capsule.

Outlook Challenges

The legendary Space Force scene is now a reality. During a livestream, Commander Reid Wiseman can be heard talking to Mission Control "I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working if you want to remote in,"

Now, one might wonder why NASA even uses Outlook. Surely they're use something more tested and reliable. This is partially true, the spacecraft and primary flight systems run on specialized space-proof hardware and extensively tested software. Outlook is just a nice to have so that so astronauts can check schedules, get/send personal communications, and other normal computing tasks. Software like Outlook is classified as "Commercial Off-The-Shelf" (COTS) software that astronauts can use for their day-to-day operations.

Toilet Battle

Since launching from Earth on Wednesday, the four astronauts have had some intermittent issues with their toilet.

At one point on Saturday, the toilet was unable to dump its waste overboard. NASA believes it may be due to a frozen vent line. The astronauts had to use an alternative system involving collapsible plastic containers that collect their urine, reminiscent of the Apollo era.

While speaking to Earth via a video link on Thursday, mission specialist Koch mentioned there had been a slight "priming" issue with the toilet.

"I'm proud to call myself the space plumber, I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board," she said.

By adjusting the spacecraft to point the vent toward the Sun, they were able to clear the clog. This freed up space in the waste management system tank, but it did not fully clear the problem, NASA said.

Sources and Additional Reading: