When NASA astronaut Christina Koch launched aboard the Orion spacecraft as part of the historic Artemis II mission, she was ready for anything the cosmos might throw at her. As it turned out, the first challenge came not from outer space but from the loo.
Shortly after the crew reached orbit, a fault developed with the spacecraft's toilet. Mission Control guided Koch through the troubleshooting, and she got to work. When asked about it on a NASA livestream broadcast from space, she did not hesitate to claim the glory. "I'll take that one," she said. "I'm the space plumber. I'm proud to call myself the space plumber."
She was in no doubt about the stakes involved either. "I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board," Koch told the crew. "So we were all breathing a sigh of relief when it turned out to be just fine."
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The fault, as it happened, was not as serious as first feared. "It was just an issue, I think, of sitting for a long time and needing a little time to warm up. A priming issue. But we did originally think that there could have been potentially something fouling up the motor. And luckily, we are all systems go."
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It is the kind of moment that captures what astronaut training is really about. Mission specialists like Koch are prepared for every role on board, from complex navigation to, yes, unblocking spacecraft plumbing. Nothing is beneath them, quite literally.
Koch is making history on this flight, becoming the first woman to travel beyond low-Earth orbit and the first to venture into the vicinity of the Moon. She has previously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, where long-duration missions taught her to turn her hand to whatever the job required.
On a nine-and-a-half-day journey around the Moon and back, keeping every system running, including the plumbing, is not just a matter of comfort. It is essential. Artemis II is a test flight designed to check all systems aboard Orion before the next crewed mission, with a human Moon landing currently planned for 2028 with Artemis IV. Every fix, however unglamorous, matters. Koch, for her part, seems entirely unbothered by her new title. In space, you do what needs doing and you do it with a smile.
