Scientists have drilled 1.7 miles deep into Antarctica, pulling up an ice core sample that dates back at least 1.2 million years. They expect the sample to offer new insights into the evolution of Earth’s climate and atmosphere throughout history.

Led by The Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (ISP-CNR), the scientists worked for more than 200 days, drilling into the ice and processing the ice core at a remote site in East Antarctica called Little Dome C, with a balmy average summer temperature of -31 degrees Fahrenheit (-35 degrees Celsius).