It took British scientist Martin Siegert 16 years to start exploring the ancient lake that was hidden for millions of year. After the lake was discovered in 1996, Prof Siegert set up a team to start the drilling of the lake.

But the project suffered quite a few setbacks. First the boiler broke down which halted the drilling. When the boiler got fixed the team spent twenty hours trying to join the project’s main and secondary boreholes through an ice cavity. This ice cavity was 1.8 miles below the surface of Antarctica.

It was a $13 million project headed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). This method used near-boiling water to drill and reach the lake. The drilling machines were not used because they did not want to contaminate the water.

Prof Siegert thanked everyone involved in the project for their efforts.

The secrets of the lake are still hidden from us but maybe some time soon we will uncover them.

You never know in a few years it might be you drilling holes in the lake :)