Lake Untersee

German for "Lower Lake," Lake Untersee is a lake with that name. The lake, which is the biggest surface freshwater lake in central Queen Maud Land in East Antarctica's Gruber Mountains, is well-known. The lake has a surface area of 11.4 square kilometers (4.4 sq mi), is 6.5 kilometers (4.0 km) long, 2.5 kilometers (1.6 mi) broad, and has a maximum depth of 169 meters (554 ft). This lake in Antarctica, in contrast to several others, is not subglacial and is surrounded by sizable mountains and glaciers, giving it a lovely sight to see. Researchers have been able to better understand the implications of climate change in the coming decades because of the ice that covered the region over 100,000 years ago.

The lake served as a test site for the "Tawani Foundation 2008 Antarctic International Expedition," which was led by Richard Hoover of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in its search for extreme life in November and December 2008. Lake Untersee may serve as a model for ecosystems that exist elsewhere in space. The conditions are comparable to those that are predicted to occur on other moons and planets that include water ice and methane.