Day 22 of the MASA mission to the third planet

Just over 3 weeks ago Mission Control at MASA (Mars Aeronautics and Space Administration) announced that they had successfully landed an unmanned mobile probe on third planet from the sun. The early results of the mission have exceeded all expectations. According to a MASA spokesman "the chosen landing site has proven to be remarkably rich in artifacts from a now extinct species".

The latest high resolution image from the probe's navigation camera shows a strange and enigmatic metal object projecting from the sand. MASA's linguistic experts think that the strange symbols on the structure may be hieroglyphics, a primitive form of writing. However, even more exciting data have come from the probe's powerful acoustically enhanced ground penetrating radar system. This has revealed a huge network of tunnels in the bedrock deep under the sand and extending for miles in every direction. MASA archaeologists believe that these were of ritual significance, playing some role in an underground cult. Our scientists, however, are of the opinion that they are a series of cisterns that were used as a final desperate measure to store water from the melting ice-caps, as the planet's climate spun out of control. On that basis our linguists believe that the hieroglyphics spell out the word "water".

Despite these fascinating discoveries opposition politicians in the Mars Assembly are already complaining of the expense, suggesting that the money would be better spent on their allowances.