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KOROLYOV, Russia. – The joint effort of dozens of nations for the last decade culminated in triumph yesterday, as the Solidarity rocket-shuttle hybrid touched down without incident on Martian soil. The journey from Earth lasted 38 days, surprising Mission Control experts, who predicted the propulsion system, a Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (or VASIMR), would take a minimum of 42 days to reach Mars.

“We’re extremely proud of this accomplishment,” stated Michael R. Ross, head of the Interplanetary Travel and Colonization Administration. “What we’ve seen today is the culmination of the bravest men, the best minds, and the joint good will of the people of Earth, as we forge ahead at the dawn of a new age in human existence. Today we, like Columbus, will set foot on a new world.”

The landing site for the mission is especially significant, as it was the location of the Mars Sojourner Rover project of 1997. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Pathfinder Located at Chryse Planitia, in the Oxia Palus Quadrangle, the site is 27° west longitude and 18° north latitude on the Martian surface.

The international team, comprising members from the Russian Federation, as well as the European Union, Australia, and the United Northern Hemisphere, will begin the process of outfitting the Martian surface in an attempt to create a permanent base for human habitation of the red planet.

The current mission was made possible by the successful completion of preliminary building by a team of robotic excavation and construction machinery one year ago. Project Red Rock, launched in April 2061, was a scout mission staffed entirely by machines, whose sole mission was to build a habitable pod for the human mission to follow.

Known as Unity Station, the underground pod allows for a team of eighteen staff members to live in relative comfort, while giving protection from the planet’s megastorms and occasional radiation bursts from the sun that travel through deep space. These radiation bursts penetrate Mars’s thin atmosphere, presenting a potentially lethal threat to members of the interplanetary project.

The 18 member team will conduct geophysical experiments, test meteorological patterns, and collect samples, in addition to their duties in constructing lasting buildings for subterranean habitation.

While no members of the Martian staff have yet been available for comment, IPCA offers assurance that all members of the team are in good health, and are embarking on the goals of their mission with enthusiasm.