

Russian polar researchers plan to reach Lake Vostok in this season - bsk
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/12/24/37701431.html

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jdp23
They've been drilling since 1995. More background from a story earlier this
year at
[http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=3...](http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=30838)

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URSpider94
Perhaps it's a sign of the times, but when I read, "Experts assure that there
will be no penetration of air from the atmosphere in the relict lake and there
is no threat to its ecology," I feel like it's guaranteed that we'll find a
way to do exactly that.

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exch
I do hope their promises of not contaminating the ecology will hold up in
those undoubtedly very harsh conditions. Would be a shame to waste all those
years of drilling by introducing foreign 'samples' into the mix.

~~~
jmaygarden
Along those lines, is there more detailed information available on this "new
technology" that is supposed to prevent contamination? Wikipedia says that the
Russian bore hole was filled with freon and aviation fuel to prevent
freezing...

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Luyt
This is very exciting, and will probably produce some extremophile
(bacterial?) lifeforms which have been hidden for ages, and probably live off
volcanic heat and gases.

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jmaygarden
Are the Russians getting too impatient for cryobot and hydrobot?

[http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/NVA2~14~14~250...](http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/NVA2~14~14~25039~124507:cryobot-
hydrobot)

