A team of Russian scientists for St Petersburg are drilling through two and half miles of ice to the sub-glacial Lake Vostok, which has been cut off for more than 14 million years.
Lake Vostok is the biggest of 300 sub-glacial lakes under Antarctica, covering 15,000 square metres, with depths reaching 1,200 metres.
The lake holds priceless information about the past – information that could illuminate questions we have today about climate change and much more besides.
And, make no mistake, this is one of the world’s harshest climates.
3,500 metres above sea level, the lack of oxygen makes it difficult to breathe.
But glaciologist Dr. Alexei Ekaykin believes it may tell us something about new forms of life on the planet.
Frozen Lake Vostok is an analogue of the extra-terrestrial environment found on planets like Europa,
which is thought to conceal a liquid ocean underneath its icy surface