Because it is there

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Kapitsa, A., Heap, J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1995
• Subjects: Geology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Oceanography; Antarctic; Lake Vostok; Vostok Station; Antarc*; Antarctic Science
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102095000307; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102095000307

When an Englishman, George Leigh Mallory, was repeatedly asked in 1923, during a lecture tour in America, why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, he replied, simply “Because it is there”. In the course of a recent workshop on the phenomenon of Antarctic sub-glacial lakes, best exemplified by the largest known lake which lies under the Russian Vostok station, a similar question was hovering in the air. “Why drill through to the lake?”; one could sense the wish that it would be sufficient, simply to give the “Mallory” answer. Mallory's reply carries with it the feeling of a “put down,” as if he were saying that he wanted no more questions about his motives for engaging in a venture which needed no further justification. Similarly, many scientists would be tempted to answer with the same asperity. “Don't question our motives- this is an experiment. We will build hypotheses about what we are likely to find, and then test them by drilling through; but the ultimate justification lies in the fact that Lake Vostok, is there, and is a proper object of human enquiry”.