SpaceX capsule's toilet issue will force astronauts to wear diapers on their trip back to Earth

The toilet was declared unusable after a tube used to funnel urine into a storage tank became unglued and caused a mess beneath the capsule's floor.

Key Highlights

• Astronauts who will be departing from the International Space Station (ISS) in the coming days will have to use diapers on the way home because the toilet in their capsule is 'out of order'

• The crew will be experiencing a certain level of discomfort due to the broken toilet in the Crew Dragon spacecraft named the 'Endeavour'

• The bizarre but unfortunate situation has been described as 'suboptimal' but manageable by NASA astronaut Megan McArthur

In space, no one can hear your scream. Aboard this capsule, no one can go to the toilet. Sound’s like a major plot change to a movie franchise, right?  Well, the latter is a real situation.

Astronauts who will be departing from the International Space Station (ISS) in the coming days will have to use diapers on the way home because the toilet in their capsule is 'out of order'

The crew will be experiencing a certain level of discomfort due to the broken toilet in the Crew Dragon spacecraft named the 'Endeavour'.

The bizarre but unfortunate situation has been described as 'suboptimal' but manageable by NASA astronaut Megan McArthur.

She is one of the four crew members who will spend 20 hours in the capsule from the time the hatches are closed until Monday morning, according to reports.

“Spaceflight is full of lots of little challenge. This is just one more that we’ll encounter and take care of in our mission. So we’re not too worried about it," McArthur said in a news conference from orbit.

The toilet was declared unusable after a tube used to funnel urine into a storage tank became unglued and caused a mess beneath the capsule's floor. Interestingly, it's a problem that has affected all three SpaceX spacecraft, according to a CNN report.

Reports say the toilet problem was first noted during SpaceX's private flight in September. But engineers were able to determine that the capsule had not become structurally compromised by the urine leak

Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, and Akihiko Hoshide from Japan are the four people who will board the capsule with the inoperable toilet. They will have to rely on absorbent 'undergarments', as described by NASA.

The decision to bring all the four astronauts back home was taken after a series of meetings on Friday.

But the leaking toilet isn't the only noteworthy news that has come from the capsule. The astronauts were able to grow the first chili pepper in space.

Astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough, Akihiko Hoshide and Megan McArthur (Credit: AP)

“They have a nice spiciness to them, a little bit of a lingering burn. Some found that more troublesome than others.”