Lake Vostok: Antarctica’s hidden subglacial lake in ice
Ada Wood
ByAda WoodandTatum Fry•
October 11, 2026Updated: October 11, 2026, 7:30 am EDTPublished: October 11, 2026, 7:00 am EDT

Buried under two and a half miles of ice in East Antarctica, Lake Vostok has stayed hidden and unfrozen for at least 15 million years. Scientists have found microbes built to survive extreme cold and extreme heat, hinting at hydrothermal vents on the lake floor. NASA says studying Vostok could reveal what’s hiding in the icy oceans of moons like Europa and Enceladus.

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