A research team from twelve European scientific institutions, Italy's National Research Council Institute of Polar Sciences, has launched the fourth and final drilling campaign of the Beyond EPICA - Oldest Ice project in Antarctica. The issue is the possibility of reaching a depth of 2,750 meters, where the ice may contain records of the Earth's climatic history extending back to 1.5 million years ago. This would provide direct information on the concentrations of greenhouse gases and atmospheric temperature for the first time. The team of 16 scientists and logistics professionals will work for two months in the distant field of Little Dome C, at a height of 3,200 meters above sea level, in average temperatures of -35°C. After the field was reopened, the team began drilling a few days ago, and they have already reached a depth of almost 1900 meters. "If the team is successful, it will mark a historic moment for climate and environmental science", said Carlo Barbante, Beyond EPICA coordinator and professor at Ca' Foscari University of Venice. Beyond EPICA's ice core will provide unprecedented information on previous temperature and atmospheric composition during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, which occurred between 900,000 and 1.2 million years ago.