The NASA-funded ENDURANCE project has completed its second field season robotically exploring the waters of an ice-covered lake in Antarctica. Insight gained by the expedition will help scientists prepare for a future mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

During EUDURANCE’s second field season, the robot was used to study the west lobe of Antarctica’s Lake Bonney and the underwater face of Taylor Glacier. Over the course of a month, ENDURANCE produced what is perhaps the most extensive 3-D biogeochemical map of any lake on Earth.