Artemis II astronauts on path to the moon after toilet and email issues

A key engine burn has put NASA's Artemis II astronauts on an irreversible path around the moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Toilet plumbing problems, email glitches and issues phoning home: Astronauts are just like us!

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The four crew members who launched Wednesday on NASA's 10-day Artemis II mission around the moon have already overcome several challenges during their first day in space.

Shortly after they reached orbit around Earth, the crew members — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — experienced a “loss of communications” with ground controllers. During the brief dropout, NASA was unable to receive data from the crew members or their Orion spacecraft. The astronauts seemed to be able to hear Mission Control, but not the other way around.