A scientific mission to study Antarctica’s rapidly melting Thwaites Glacier ended in heartbreak over the weekend, when researchers’ instruments became stranded somewhere within half-mile tract of glacial ice. To create a hole reaching the Antarctic waters, scientists and engineers blasted a borehole around one foot in diameter and about 3,300 feet deep using hot water. Though it won’t provide one-to-two years of continuous data like the main instruments would have, it’s crucial evidence for scientists racing to discover why the Thwaites is melting much faster than expected. That research has potentially world-shifting implications, because many experts worry that if the glacier collapses, it could devastate coastlines across the planet. The data confirms that “this is the place to go, whatever challenges there are.”More on Glaciers: The Sounds of a Dying Glacier Might Make You Cry