Afghanistan, April 4 -- A small technical problem aboard NASA's Artemis II mission turned into one of the most talked-about moments of the flight after astronaut Christina Koch helped fix a toilet issue inside the Orion spacecraft, prompting a light-hearted exchange with mission control and a wave of attention online.
NASA said the problem appeared shortly after launch, when the crew reported a blinking fault light linked to the spacecraft's waste system.
During troubleshooting, ground teams jokingly asked who would become the mission's "first space plumber," and Koch, an engineer and physicist, embraced the role. The moment quickly stood out as a rare and human glimpse into daily life aboard a spacecraft otherwise focused on high-stakes ...