Reports say Russian scientists have reached a lake hidden beneath an Antarctic glacier for millions of years.
Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute says its team reached Lake Vostok on February 5 after more than two decades of drilling.
The event has been avidly anticipated by scientists around the world, who hope that the lake may contain microbial life and provide clues on the origins of life and in the search for possible life on other planets.
Lake Vostok, nearly 4 kilometers beneath the surface, is the largest in a web of nearly 400 known subglacial lakes in Antarctica.
It is 250 kilometers long and 50 kilometers across at its widest point.
Compiled from agency reports