SlashNOT

matthew writes: Three days after the successful landing of the Spirit Rover on Mars, NASA Chief Sean O’Keefe has admitted than a member of the Spirit Rover team left the keys to the robotic rover on Earth in his jacket pocket, leaving the rover stranded withing the landing module and unable to transit down the ramp onto the Martian surface.

“We’re currently exploring various avenues to get the rover started without the keys, but at this point we may have to face the fact that we’ve already seen the best pictures we’re going to get from the Mission. We’ve subsequently initiated an investigation into the location of the keys to Spirit’s twin, the Opportunity rover, which will touch down on the Martian surface in two weeks, and yes, the same Engineer was found with those keys as well.”

JPL Engineers have been attempting to use the Rover’s small robotic arm to move a bolt found lying on the floor of the lander into position where it can short the ignition contacts. It’s not clear why the Rovers were designed with key operated ignitions, considering the lack complex life on Mars. Consultants to Slashnot have speculated that cost cutting measures under NASA’s smaller, faster, cheaper program have necessitated the re-use of components from the automobiles of Engineering personnel.