---
title: "The Curse of the Toilet Continues! Bathroom Broke During Tourists’ Stay on ISS"
description: "The crew of the latest space tourist mission into space had to figuratively knock on the door of the Russian segment of the ISS to use their bathroom."
date: "2022-04-29"
modified: "2022-04-29"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bathroom-broke-tourists-stay-iss"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "international space station"
  - "iss"
  - "the digest"
---

# The Curse of the Toilet Continues! Bathroom Broke During Tourists’ Stay on ISS

![The crew of the latest space tourist mission into space had to figuratively knock on the door of the Russian segment of the ISS to use their bathroom.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bathroom-broke-tourists-stay-iss.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Knock Knock

Going to the bathroom in microgravity is anything but simple. Doing your business requires some surprisingly sophisticated machinery, including a suction fan, funnel, bucket, and plastic liners.

Given that Rube Goldberg of human waste, it's not surprising that plumbing troubles have [plagued off world bathrooms](<https://futurism.com/nasa-call-space-toilet>).

In fact, now it turns out that the crew of the latest space tourist mission into space, Ax-1, had to figuratively knock on the door of the Russian segment of the ISS to use their facilities — because the American sector's toilet broke down during their stay.

"We had one day when the toilet was down for a couple hours," Larry Connor, one of the mission's space tourists [told *CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/business/spacex-larry-connor-ax-1-scn/index.html>). "The Russians were very cordial, very accommodating. We operate as one team up there and they said, 'Hey, come on over and use ours.'"

Connor told *CNN* that the cosmonauts were "gracious hosts," [inviting him and the rest of his crew](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-station-tourists-russian-segment-invited>) to their segment for the "equivalent of juice boxes and a little bit of dessert."

## Out House

The ISS has been in continuous use since the early 2000s, and the cracks are [literally starting to show](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-more-cracks-space-station>). The station's toilet facilities have broken and [replaced](<https://futurism.com/space-station-new-toilet>) on a number of occasions over the decades.

It's far from the first time astronauts have had issues with the American segment's toilet. In 2019, the [toilet reportedly blew up](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/iss-toilet-russia-american>), spilling water everywhere — which is bad news, especially in a microgravity environment.

SpaceX, which carried the Ax-1 tourists to the station in a Dragon capsule, has also struggled to build a reliable space latrine. Astronauts have [had issues](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-tourists-struggled-with-space-toilet>) with a leaky commode on board the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft on [more than one occasion](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-spacex-toilet-still-broken>).

The latest instance of bathroom sharing is also a reminder that operations on board the ISS are still largely unaffected by the political crisis unfolding back on the ground.

The topic of Ukraine never even came up, according to the report — a rather awkward conversation to be had, surely, while you're waiting for the toilet to free up.

**READ MORE:** [Private astronaut just back from space station describes interactions with Russian cosmonauts](<https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/business/spacex-larry-connor-ax-1-scn/index.html>) \[*CNN*\]

**More on the ISS:** *[NASA Deciding Whether Russian Cosmonaut Is Allowed on SpaceX Launch](<https://futurism.com/nasa-deciding-cosmonaut-spacex-launch>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)