The cylinder is from Mars and was sent by the Martians to take place in the full scale invasion of Earth. After the cylinder lands and fully unscrews, the lid will fall of and a Martian will peak out above the rim of the cylinder to check where they landed.  The Martians are similar in appearance to an octopus, it has a large head with oily brown skin, two eyes on the side of the head and 16 tentacles and a fleshy beak-like mouth. The Martians are very hostile.