Technologies

Flush With Success: Artemis II Crew Fixes Space Toilet

Houston, we have a potty problem. A team effort restored the Orion spacecraft’s bathroom, to astronauts’ relief.

The glamour and excitement of space flight come with some pretty mundane life requirements. One of those is the need for working bathroom facilities.

You can’t exactly call a plumber when you’re in space, but Artemis II astronauts have managed to fix their lunar toilet without one. In a blog post on Thursday, NASA shared that the Orion spacecraft’s commode is now operational, following work by the onboard crew and with help from mission control in Houston.

The Artemis II crew lifted off on Wednesday from Florida and later reported a blinking fault light relating to their toilet. According to the post, «mission control teams successfully assessed the data and worked with the crew to troubleshoot and resolve the issue.»

«The toilet fan is reported to be jammed,» NASA spokesperson Gary Jordan said during live mission commentary, according to the BBC. «Now the ground teams are coming up with instructions on how to get into the fan and clear that area to revive the toilet for the mission.»

A representative for NASA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

During NASA’s Artemis II mission, four astronauts will orbit the moon for 10 days. Landing humans on the moon’s surface will come later, with an Artemis IV mission scheduled for 2028.

Hearing protection for a very loud toilet

Wondering how exactly one even uses a toilet on a spacecraft? A collaboration between Nat Geo and NASA provided a look inside the Artemis II Orion spacecraft, including its moon-bound loo.

Among the most intriguing factoids is that astronauts use handholds and foot tethers to keep themselves on the toilet seat. They even wear hearing protection when going to the bathroom because the suction fan and airflow system is so loud.

The space toilet uses a funnel to trap the waste, and then the automatic airflow device pulls it away and into storage containers, The New York Times reports.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 3, #557

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 3 No. 557.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a timely theme, and if your bracket has already been busted (or even if it hasn’t been), you should do well. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: More points!

Green group hint: Home for hoops.

Blue group hint: March Madness.

Purple group hint: Exceptional hoopsters.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Ways to score.

Green group: Areas on the basketball court.

Blue group: Locations of this year’s women’s Final Four teams.

Purple group: Women’s NCAA tournament most outstanding players.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is ways to score. The four answers are 3-pointer, floater, free throw and layup.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is areas on the basketball court. The four answers are corner, elbow, paint and wing.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is locations of this year’s women’s Final Four teams. The four answers are Austin, Columbia, Los Angeles and Storrs.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is women’s NCAA tournament most outstanding players. The four answers are Azzi, Boston, Cash and Fudd.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, April 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I thought today’s Mini Crossword was pretty tricky. I jumped from the Across clues to the Down and back to Across, slowly adding answers and making several mistakes as I went. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Jumped up … or a season in the past tense?
Answer: SPRANG

7A clue: Basketball player, informally
Answer: HOOPER

8A clue: ___ balloon
Answer: HOTAIR

9A clue: Tumbled down … or a season in the past tense?
Answer: FELL

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «Be quiet!»
Answer: SHH

2D clue: Sound of disappearance
Answer: POOF

3D clue: Memorization technique based on repetition
Answer: ROTE

4D clue: «C’mon, be ___» («Help me out»)
Answer: APAL

5D clue: Astronaut Armstrong
Answer: NEIL

6D clue: Dog’s warning
Answer: GRR

Technologies

Amazon to Add 3.5% Fulfillment Surcharge as Fuel Costs Rise

The new surcharge will be added to fees paid by third-party sellers in the US and Canada.

Amazon will add a 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge to fulfillment fees it charges third-party merchants, as the war in the Middle East, which began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran at the end of February, continues to drive up fuel costs.

The fee will be applied to third-party sellers across Fulfillment by Amazonin the US and Canada beginning April 17, Amazon said in a note to sellers on Thursday.

«Elevated costs in fulfillment and logistics have increased the cost of operating across the industry,» Amazon wrote in its announcement. «We have absorbed these increased costs so far. However, similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing.»

Amazon said the new surcharge is «meaningfully lower» than what is charged by other major carriers. Its surcharge will average about 17 cents per unit in the US, but the cost will vary based on the item’s size, Amazon said.

Amazon’s announcement comes amid surging gas prices across much of the globe as the war escalates. The national average price for a gallon of gas exceeded $4 per gallon at the end of March for the first time since August 2022, an increase of more than $1 per gallon in one month.

Amazon’s new fee follows a similar surcharge proposed last month by the US Postal Service. The USPS said it will implement a temporary 8% surcharge beginning in April «to better align its costs of transportation with the market.» The proposed increase, which requires the approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission, will affect Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select.

Shipping competitors, such as FedEx and United Parcel Service, have had fuel surcharges in place for years. Due to the ongoing oil crisis and rise in gas prices, they have increased these fees in recent weeks.