In a surprising discovery, NASA scientists have rediscovered Camp Century, a covert Cold War-era military base, embedded beneath Greenland’s ice, the US Sun reported.
Constructed in the late 1950s, Camp Century was established approximately 100 feet below the surface of a Greenland glacier. This endeavor by the US Army Corps of Engineers involved the development of 21 interconnected tunnels, spanning a total length of over 9,800 feet. Initially, the base served as a publicly known scientific research station.
However, beneath its scientific guise was a hidden objective. Camp Century was the center of Project Iceworm, a top-secret military plan aimed at preparing the United States for a potential nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. The plan was to embed up to 600 nuclear missiles under the ice, pointed towards their Cold War adversary.
The unique challenges of operating a military base under ice necessitated cutting-edge solutions. Among these was the portable nuclear reactor known as PM-2A, which provided essential electricity and sustainable heat to the base's inhabitants. This technological marvel was central to maintaining the viability of the base amid the harsh Arctic conditions.
Despite these innovations, Camp Century faced persistent issues with ice instability. These problems threatened the structural integrity of the tunnels and, over time, rendered the covert operation impractical. By 1967, the challenges had culminated in the abandonment of the base by the United States government, leaving behind hazardous materials encased in the slowly shifting glacier.
Fast forward to April 2024, while conducting a routine aerial survey for ice mapping, a NASA scientist inadvertently stumbled upon Camp Century. Using UAVSAR technology, designed to investigate the layers of ice and its bed, the radar data surprisingly illustrated the outlines of the buried base. According to cryospheric scientist Alex Gardner from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, “We were looking for the bed of the ice, and out pops Camp Century.”
This discovery occurred unexpectedly during tests intended to calibrate and validate UAVSAR’s capabilities. "Our goal was to calibrate, validate, and understand the capabilities and limitations of UAVSAR for mapping the ice sheet's internal layers and the ice-bed interface," explained Chad Greene, another scientist involved in the research project.
Camp Century’s dual function as both a research facility and a missile base illustrates the complex interplay of science and military strategy during the Cold War. The site was strategically chosen not just for its scientific value but also for its potential as a missile deployment site within striking distance of the Soviet Union.
Upon reconsideration of historic maps, researchers were able to confirm the structure and specific characteristics of the base, correlating these findings with the anomalies detected in the radar images. This confirmation underlined the success of UAVSAR technology in revealing hidden layers beneath the ice—layers that include not just geological features but also historical relics.
The rediscovery of Camp Century raises significant questions about the environmental impact of Cold War-era military operations in sensitive regions. As the glacier melts, the leftover waste slowly exposes itself, presenting modern-day challenges for environmental scientists and historians alike.
Furthermore, this finding sheds light on a nearly forgotten chapter of the Cold War, showing how geopolitical tensions drove technological advances and military strategies, often in secret. The base at Camp Century epitomized the era’s blend of innovation and intrigue, serving as a powerful reminder of the lengths nations will go to in the name of security and power.
As research continues, more details about Camp Century and its secrets will likely emerge, offering new insights into this shadowy chapter of the 20th century. Meanwhile, the tale of its discovery affirms the capacity of modern technology to uncover hidden facets of our world, revealing truths long buried under sheets of ice and time.
