Featured Image Credit: NASA
We're on the verge of the first manned trip the Moon in over half a century, yet the conditions might not match the scale of the occasion as NASA has officially revealed what the close quarters of the Orion spacecraft look like.
Spacecrafts are designed with efficiency and optimization first and foremost, as it's already difficult enough to get up into space and having one thing go wrong could lead to a disastrous situation.
That unfortunately leaves little thought for the living conditions of the astronauts themselves and while some trips only last for a couple of days, others can stretch into weeks, months, or even beyond a year in certain circumstances.
Most, if not all astronauts won't mind this at all though as they get to live out their dream of exploring the galaxy, but that doesn't extend to everyone else on the internet who often look on in horror at how the crew members have to live.
Advert
This appears to have been the case with NASA's Artemis II crew, who are just about to embark on a historic journey that will take them around the Moon — the closest anyone has been to the nearby space rock since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Orion spacecraft won't actually be landing on the Moon as part of this mission, with the main purpose being to test the conditions of the craft and the astronauts themselves in this comparatively new situation, but that might perhaps be worse as they'll be stuck inside the whole time.
A recent peer inside the Orion spacecraft shows quite how cramped it is, with the crew members packed close to each other and barely enough room to move around outside of their seats.
The journey itself will thankfully only take ten days, meaning the potential discomfort will only last for a short period of time, but that's still more than long enough for some people on social media.
As shared by the Daily Mail, everyone appears to be pointing out the same cramped nature of the spacecraft, with some even concerned about the potential smell that might emerge — both from the astronauts themselves and their various activities.
There's no way this mission will take place. No mention of how they will be in extremely close quarters and will have to change each other's diapers and wipe. The smell would be intolerable. Or will they just crap into their spacesuits and hold it there for the 10 day mission?
— Budd Smith (@SmithBudd68991) January 29, 2026
"No mention of how they will be in extremely close quarters and will have to change each other's diapers and wipe," writes one confused individual on X, speculating that "the smell would be intolerable. Or will they just crap into their spacesuits and hold it there for the 10-day mission?"
There have already been famous instances of floating excrement in past Moon missions that NASA will likely not want a repeat of, but another reply has pointed out that thankfully there has been a new toilet designed for this mission that's already been tested on the International Space Station, so hopefully the cramped nature won't affect any bathroom activity.
