“It really was an accident in the truest sense of the word,” the judge said.

Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts.

On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again.

The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination on Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around.

READ MORE: Artemis II's moonbound astronauts capture Earth's brilliant blue beauty

It is the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA's Apollo program left off.

"The Earth is quite small, and the moon is definitely getting bigger," pilot Victor Glover reported.

Until the Orion capsule's bathroom is fixed, Mission Control has instructed the astronauts to break out more of the backup urine collection bags.

The so-called lunar loo malfunctioned following Wednesday's liftoff and has been hit-and-miss ever since.

A version of the Artemis II toilet was tested on the International Space Station several years ago.

READ MORE: Motorists encouraged to dob in servos as 93 locations fined for price gouging

Engineers suspect ice may be blocking the line that is preventing urine from completely flushing overboard. The toilet is still open for No. 2 business.

Debbie Korth, NASA's Orion program deputy manager, said the astronauts have also reported a smell coming from the bathroom, which is buried in the floor of the capsule with a door and curtain for privacy.

"Space toilets and bathrooms are something everybody can really understand .. it's always a challenge," she said, noting that the space shuttle toilet was also often on the fritz.

READ MORE: COVID-19 strain sweeping the US set to become a 'feature' of Aussie winter wave

John Honeycutt, chair of the mission management team, said it is human nature to be interested in the space commode, and even though it is "in a good state right now," he'd like it to be working at 100 per cent.

"They're OK," he said of the astronauts. "They trained to manage through the situation."

Artemis II is poised to set a distance record for humans, traveling more than 400,000 kilometers from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon and heading home without stopping or entering lunar orbit.

The record is currently held by Apollo 13.

The Canadian Space Agency celebrated the country's role in the mission, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward his lunar rendezvous. Hansen is the first non-US citizen to fly to the moon.

"Today he is making history for Canada," Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell said. "As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada's future is written by those who dare to reach for more."

In the live televised linkup, Hansen said he has already witnessed "extraordinary" views from NASA's Orion capsule.

Hansen, Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch are the world's first lunar astronauts since Apollo 17's crew of three in 1972. Koch and Glover are the first female and first Black astronauts to the moon, respectively.

Their nearly 10-day mission — ending with a Pacific splashdown on April 10 — is the first step in NASA's bold plans for a sustainable moon base.

The space agency is aiming for a landing by two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2028.

READ MORE: European ministers call for profit caps on energy companies

The trio’s Āriki Group purchase makes Studio West an indigenous-owned hub.

“I lost most of my family, no one believed me,” she has recalled.

Mark Lagerstedt alleges his wife’s severe PTSD was ignored in hospital.

Motorists are being encouraged to dob in service stations suspected of price gouging as almost 100 locations are fined in a state-wide blitz.

NSW Fair Trading officers inspected nearly 1800, about 75 per cent, of the state's 2400 service stations in the past fortnight.

During the operation, 93 fines were issued, 24 of which were from public tip-offs alone.

READ MORE: Clock ticks on Trump's 48-hour deadline as US and Iran race to find missing pilot

Retailers found breaking the rule face on-the-spot fines of $1100 or court penalties of up to $22,000 for individuals and $110,000 for corporations.

The state is monitoring whether service stations are following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's new price gouging rules and passing down the cost savings from the federal government's fuel excise reduction.

Most of the state's service stations will be physically inspected in the coming weeks, with regional areas being a key target.

In the meantime, NSW Fair Trading has urged motorists to report service stations and price issues via its website or FuelCheck.

It comes as the state pours $2.2 million into upgrading FuelCheck, a government-run app that provides real-time fuel prices, as more people reach for the service in light of surging fuel prices.

READ MORE: Taxi company's fear as fuel prices, Uber and 'rogue cowboys' smash industry

The number of people using the app increased by 490,000 from 10,000 in January to 500,000 in March. 

The funding will improve data collection from fuel retailers, data analysis and design.

"Over the past two weeks, millions of NSW motorists have turned to FuelCheck to help find the best fuel price and navigate fuel supply gaps," Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said.

"These are uncertain times, but we want the people of New South Wales to have the utmost confidence in the real-time price transparency data provided by FuelCheck."

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Staff say those with multiple registered dogs rarely cause any problems.

Police were called to the crash just before 9.40am today.

Nobody was injured when both groups began firing at each other.

Two police cars were damaged near Palmerston North overnight.