Charmin has offered each of the four Artemis II astronauts a year’s supply of toilet paper after Orion’s onboard toilet showed a blinking fault light following the April 1 launch. Mission control quickly restored the system to normal operations. If accepted, each astronaut would receive 14 Charmin Forever Rolls and a stainless-steel stand. The Orion capsule is due to splash down off San Diego around 8:07 p.m. ET on April 10, and Artemis II is the first lunar-orbit mission to carry a modern toilet system.
Charmin Offers Year’s Supply of Toilet Paper to Artemis II After Onboard Toilet Glitch
Lunar SelfieMidway through their lunar observation period, the Artemis II crew members, seen here (From left to right: Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch), pause to turn the camera around for a selfie inside the Orion spacecraft.NASA's Artemis II astronautsare among the first government spacefarers to bring personal smartphones to space.
Charmin has made a lighthearted offer to support NASA’s Artemis II astronauts after a minor issue with Orion’s onboard restroom system following the mission’s April 1 launch.
Spaceship EarthNASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon.
“To our moon mission crew ... We're sorry to hear your mission included some unexpected turbulence in the bathroom department. Butt don't worry, we'll be ready for your return with a year's supply of Charmin to ensure a smooth landing for the next time you launch one. After all, every moon deserves to Enjoy the Go.” — Charmin Instagram post, April 9
The Artemis II crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — launched from Kennedy Space Center and have traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history. NASA expects the Orion capsule to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California, at about 8:07 p.m. ET on April 10.
Photographer at WorkAstronaut Jeremy Hansen captures an image through the camera shroud covering window 2 of the Orion spacecraft. The camera shroud, essentially a curtain with a hole for the lens to pass through, is used to prevent light from the cabin from reflecting on the windowpanes.
What Happened With The Toilet
Shortly after launch, the crew reported a blinking fault light related to the onboard toilet. Mission control in Houston investigated and quickly restored the system to normal operations, allowing the crew to continue their mission.
Home, Seen from OrionNASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon.
Charmin’s Offer
Charmin said in its Instagram post that it will provide each of the four astronauts with a year’s supply of Charmin if they accept. According to Charmin Vice President Alex Perez, that would be 14 Charmin Forever Rolls per astronaut plus a stainless-steel stand. The Forever Roll, introduced last year, contains 1,700 sheets and is marketed to last about a month — roughly 32 times the sheets of a standard roll.
Eclipse SafetyFirst The Artemis II crew – Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right) – uses eclipse viewers, identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 annular eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse, to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse they experienced during their lunar flyby. This was the first use of eclipse glasses at the Moon to safely view a solar eclipse.
How Orion’s Restroom Works
The Orion restroom, called the Universal Waste Management System, includes a privacy stall and an ergonomic seat with a compact titanium vacuum toilet. The system separates urine and feces: urine is collected by a hose and vented into space several times a day, while solid waste is drawn into a bag that is sealed and placed into a canister that will return to Earth with the crew.
Final Flyby PreparationsArtemis II Pilot Victor Glover (Left), Commander Reid Wiseman (Center), and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (Right) prepare for their journey around the far side of the Moon by configuring their camera equipment shortly before beginning their lunar flyby observations.
In a video produced by the Canadian Space Agency, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen described the process and noted the comfort of having a private restroom onboard. “We’re pretty fortunate as a crew to have a toilet with a door on this tiny spacecraft — the one place that we can go during the mission where we can actually feel like we’re alone for a moment,” he said.
Rest Before Lunar FlybyArtemis II crewmember sleeping bags are illuminated inside the Orion spacecraft on Flight Day 5 of the mission and ahead of the crew's lunar flyby on April 6, 2026.
Mission Highlights
Mission photos show crew members pausing for an inside-the-capsule selfie, peering back at Earth through Orion’s windows, and using a camera shroud to reduce reflections. During the lunar flyby they used eclipse viewers to safely observe a solar eclipse — the first recorded use of eclipse glasses at the Moon. The Artemis II mission is also the first lunar-orbit flight to carry a modern toilet system; Apollo crews used plastic bags for solid waste.
Charmin in October 2025, dropped its biggest roll yet: the Forever Roll, now available nationwide online and in stores The 1,700 sheet Forever Roll lasts up to one month.
Why It Matters: The incident underscores the challenges of life support and habitability systems on crewed deep-space missions, while Charmin’s offer adds a humorous, human touch to public interest in the mission.
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