The International Space Station’s one and only toilet has broken, leaving the three-man crew in a sticky situation.

While one of the crew was using the Russian-made toilet last week, the toilet motor fan stopped functioning. Since then, the liquid waste gathering part of the toilet has been working on and off. Russian officials don’t know the cause of the problem and the crew has been unable to fix it. They have used the toilet on the Soyuz return capsule, but it has a limited capacity. They are now using a back-up bag-like collection system that can be connected to the broken toilet.

NASA may order an in-orbit plumbing service call when space shuttle Discovery visits next week. But until the galactic plumber arrives, the crew will have to make do with their makeshift system when they need to go number one. Fortunately, the solid waste collecting part is working properly.