How does Artemis II's toilet work?

Apollo flew without one: urine passed through a hose into a bag and was partly vented outside, and for solids there were adhesive bags that had to be sealed and stowed by hand. The crews considered it the most unpleasant part of the flight, and the procedure took a long time each time. That's why Orion, the spacecraft for the Artemis missions, carries a compact but complete space toilet on board, based on the system developed for the International Space Station.

Without weight nothing falls downward, so a fan does the job. It draws air through the funnel and the seat and reliably carries everything to the tank. For urine there's a funnel connected to a hose, with adapters for women and men, usable sitting or standing. For solids there's a small seat over a tank with a replaceable bag; the opening is deliberately narrow so the airflow works properly. Filters trap odours and germs before the air returns to the cabin, and after each use it's cleaned with disinfectant wipes.

In Orion, four people share roughly the space of a van. The toilet sits in a niche, a curtain offers minimal privacy, and every operation must be doable with one hand, because the other holds the body in place or serves as support. Solids stay in sealed bags on board and return to Earth with the crew. Water, oxygen and electricity are supplied by the service module built in Europe. Recycling urine isn't worthwhile on such a short flight, unlike on the space station, where a system like that saves every litre of supplies.