Drill kit begins journey to Antarctica's Lake Ellsworth -- Remember Lake Vostok?

A daring project to explore an ancient lake hidden beneath the Antarctic ice moves closer to reality this weekend

A huge load of essential equipment is starting the long journey by ship from the UK to the far South.

Probes to delve into the pitch-black waters of remote Lake Ellsworth are packed for one of the most difficult science missions of recent years.

Engineers raced to sterilise thousands of components to avoid any risk of contamination in the search for life.

The lake lies under an ice-sheet nearly two miles thick and is believed to be totally pristine, having remained isolated for possibly half a million years.

No one can predict what may be found, but some species of microbes are considered likely - which would provide an astonishing example of the adaptability of life to incredibly hostile environments

A Russian project that drilled into Lake Vostok - much larger and deeper than Lake Ellsworth - collected water samples last January but questions remain about the sterility of the equipment and the bore-hole


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[link to www.bbc.co.uk]