The 13 people aboard the International Space Station are currently facing a problem of sorts in the orbit - one of the two toilets of the space station is 'out of order'! As such, Mission Control has asked the six space station residents to use the one toilet which is functioning; while Endeavour's seven astronauts have been asked to use the shuttle bathroom.

With astronaut Hal Getzelman radioing up the appalling news to the crew on the space station on Sunday, engineers at Houston's Johnson Space Center have been working ceaselessly to troubleshoot the problem, which supposedly would take a few days to be fixed.

It so appears that one of two commodes of the international space station broke down, when complicated robotic work was being conducted by the two crews; and the break down apparently flooded the pump separator.

Two astronauts - Belgian Frank De Winne and American Michael Barratt - geared up with goggles, gloves and masks tried to fix the problem, and ripped apart the compartment, but to no avail!

Meanwhile, flight director Brian Smith, refusing to comment on whether the toilet trouble was caused due to overuse, said: "We don't yet know the extent of the problem. It may turn out to be of no consequence at all. It could turn out to be significant. It's too early to tell right now."