Friday | March 29, 2024
NASA Still Awaiting AAA For Stuck Mars Rover
It looks close in this picture, but the tow truck is at least a couple hours away from the stuck rover.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (CAP) - Months after the Mars exploration rover Spirit first got stuck in a sand dune because of a disabled wheel, NASA is still awaiting the arrival of AAA to help extricate the vehicle. Officials for the space program say the operators at the AAA call center have tried to be helpful, but don't think they fully grasp the gravity of the situation.

"The last guy tells us that if the tire seems stuck and won't come off, giving it a swift kick may loosen it," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Thanks, Einstein. Exactly who is going to do that? It's an unmanned rover. So, we continue to wait."

Bolden said the last several NASA technicians attempting to obtain a status from AAA have been given the company's party line response that "it'll be another couple of hours" before they can get a truck out to the location. Multiple CAP News phone calls to the Auto Club South headquarters of AAA were finally met with an irate manager.

"Listen, we don't have a lot of trucks that service the Mars region," said a call center director who identified himself as Marvin. "The closest guy is out on 95 hauling away an abandoned vehicle. Once he's done with that, we'll be on our way. And not a minute sooner."

The call center manager hinted to CAP News that NASA may need to upgrade their membership to AAA Plus in order to get full assistance on Mars, which falls outside of the main servicing areas of Florida, Georgia, Middle & West Tennessee. He did say that even if they don't upgrade, the Club will continue to dispatch service, but NASA may be required to pay at a special AAA member rate of $3 per mile after the third mile - which could run the administration about $105 million to get the rover back to Earth.

"In addition, we also provide AAA Plus members free foreign AAA travel books and maps," Marvin told CAP News. "That way next time they'd know which sand dunes to avoid so this doesn't happen again."

Part of the problem in getting assistance to Spirit has actually been NASA's own doing. One official speaking to CAP News under the condition of anonymity said the initial call to AAA was delayed because someone had misplaced the membership card. NASA also attempted to call for manufacturer roadside assistance, only to find that Spirit's warranty was no longer valid.

"Yeah, I guess the warranty ran out before the rover even passed the moon en route to Mars," the official said. "100,000 miles doesn't go as far as it used to. I knew we should have gotten the extended warranty."

All of this comes at a time when the Obama administration is trying to determine whether to increase the agency's budget to help fund future projects such as reviving the defunct Sex In Space program, fixing the space shuttle's satellite TV or letting NASA engineers order out for Chinese.

"Do we, uhh, pay to tow the Mars rover back to Earth, or do we, uhh, provide healthcare coverage for low-income families?" President Obama said to reporters during a press conference yesterday. "I think I'm getting sick just trying to figure out the right choice to make. Anyone have a coin?"

- CAP News Staff

SHARE STORY
MORE tech NEWS
RELATED STORIES
LEGAL
ALL MATERIAL IS

SATIRE

AND ©2005-2024 BY CAP NEWS
New Halloween app Treatr allows kids to tap pictures of neighborhood houses to trick or treat, saves "all that time walking" and increases candy acquisition rates by 72% «» Audubon Society study finds today's young birds less disciplined than their elders, flying south in U formation or incongruous amoeba-like shapes «» Forecasters say Hurricane Joaquin expected to transform from a coherent, sensible storm to a rambling, meandering mess as it drifts into obscurity north through the Atlantic «» Online petition gathers 50,000 signatures to ask NASA to schedule next super moon full moon lunar eclipse for a Saturday night, or at least earlier in the evening «» NSA officials say Chinese hackers to blame for tens of thousands of American Instagram posts not getting as many likes as they should, resulting in unnecessary hard feelings among friends «» Los Angeles institutes Shower Shaming, asking residents to rat each other out if anyone wastes water and bathes more than once per week «» Experts say the best way to combat this is to make Aunt Midge sleep on the pullout sofa which will wreak havoc on her sciatica and eventually force her to seek a better night's sleep at a local hotel «» Experts say terrorists have been hording coupons for Bell's stuffing for months, forcing many Americans to either pay full price or go with bland, dry generic boxed stuffing «» The man credited with inventing the "Safety Is My Goal" and "How Is My Driving?" bumper stickers that spoke for a generation of livery drivers succumbed to injuries sustained after being rear-ended by a box truck «» The limited-time only beverage is available in Rancid or Sludge flavors mixed with one or two scoops of yesterday's coffee grounds and is served in a black cup only to those who verbally denounce all organized religions when ordering «» Inspired by their Missouri brethren, Wolverine players refuse to take the field and will "focus solely on their studies" until the University retains more attractive cheerleaders «» The newly revamped tourist attraction will feature a gift shop, a food court, and a stack of three-ring binders with pictures of fish that visitors can thumb through «» The ACLU is fighting the company's decision to pull the popular t-shirts from store shelves, saying it will unfairly force society's outcasts back to shopping at K-Mart for their apparel needs «» Critics say while the shake is indeed delicious, it's too soon after the Russian airline disaster to try to capitalize on it and note the company should "give it another month or so" «» Instead, half a dozen moderators will take the stage and fire barbs at each of the candidates and then see who can provide the most sarcastic response in their absence «» Both Hewlett-Packard companies announce they're each splitting into five new companies to create a voicemail tree so complex that none of them will actually need any customer service reps to answer phones «» Jasmine V confirms she was knocked up by alien abductors, plans to keep the baby to help fight stereotypes of young Latina women who are pregnant with extraterrestrial offspring «» Federal government's plan to release thousands of non-violent prisoners contingent upon them to "remember what Uncle Barry did for you" and make sure they vote Democrat in the next election «» The Conservative Liberals In Transition Outreach Intervention Society announces its support of Hillary Clinton; CLITOrIS members say she brings "the right amount of vagina" to the table «» Retail chain CVS has bowed to pressure to stop stocking bags of metal filings in the same aisle as the Halloween candy, at least at this time of year «»
New Halloween app Treatr allows kids to tap pictures of neighborhood houses to trick or treat, saves "all that time walking" and increases candy acquisition rates by 72% «» Audubon Society study finds today's young birds less disciplined than their elders, flying south in U formation or incongruous amoeba-like shapes «» Forecasters say Hurricane Joaquin expected to transform from a coherent, sensible storm to a rambling, meandering mess as it drifts into obscurity north through the Atlantic «» Online petition gathers 50,000 signatures to ask NASA to schedule next super moon full moon lunar eclipse for a Saturday night, or at least earlier in the evening «» NSA officials say Chinese hackers to blame for tens of thousands of American Instagram posts not getting as many likes as they should, resulting in unnecessary hard feelings among friends «» Los Angeles institutes Shower Shaming, asking residents to rat each other out if anyone wastes water and bathes more than once per week «» Experts say the best way to combat this is to make Aunt Midge sleep on the pullout sofa which will wreak havoc on her sciatica and eventually force her to seek a better night's sleep at a local hotel «» Experts say terrorists have been hording coupons for Bell's stuffing for months, forcing many Americans to either pay full price or go with bland, dry generic boxed stuffing «» The man credited with inventing the "Safety Is My Goal" and "How Is My Driving?" bumper stickers that spoke for a generation of livery drivers succumbed to injuries sustained after being rear-ended by a box truck «» The limited-time only beverage is available in Rancid or Sludge flavors mixed with one or two scoops of yesterday's coffee grounds and is served in a black cup only to those who verbally denounce all organized religions when ordering «» Inspired by their Missouri brethren, Wolverine players refuse to take the field and will "focus solely on their studies" until the University retains more attractive cheerleaders «» The newly revamped tourist attraction will feature a gift shop, a food court, and a stack of three-ring binders with pictures of fish that visitors can thumb through «» The ACLU is fighting the company's decision to pull the popular t-shirts from store shelves, saying it will unfairly force society's outcasts back to shopping at K-Mart for their apparel needs «» Critics say while the shake is indeed delicious, it's too soon after the Russian airline disaster to try to capitalize on it and note the company should "give it another month or so" «» Instead, half a dozen moderators will take the stage and fire barbs at each of the candidates and then see who can provide the most sarcastic response in their absence «» Both Hewlett-Packard companies announce they're each splitting into five new companies to create a voicemail tree so complex that none of them will actually need any customer service reps to answer phones «» Jasmine V confirms she was knocked up by alien abductors, plans to keep the baby to help fight stereotypes of young Latina women who are pregnant with extraterrestrial offspring «» Federal government's plan to release thousands of non-violent prisoners contingent upon them to "remember what Uncle Barry did for you" and make sure they vote Democrat in the next election «» The Conservative Liberals In Transition Outreach Intervention Society announces its support of Hillary Clinton; CLITOrIS members say she brings "the right amount of vagina" to the table «» Retail chain CVS has bowed to pressure to stop stocking bags of metal filings in the same aisle as the Halloween candy, at least at this time of year «»