Produced by: Manoj Kumar
NASA scientists searching for ice thickness in Greenland stumbled upon a long-buried Cold War facility, frozen in time beneath the ice.
Using UAVSAR radar, scientists unexpectedly detected Camp Century, a secret U.S. military base abandoned in 1967.
Built in 1959, Camp Century was part of a nuclear testing project—now preserved beneath layers of frozen history.
NASA’s Chad Greene and Alex Gardner captured the clearest radar images yet, revealing buildings still encased in the ice.
Credit : NASA
The discovery not only exposed a forgotten Cold War relic but also provided vital new data on ice sheet behavior.
Credit : NASA
The base was designed to be hidden, but as the ice melts due to climate change, its remains are now coming back into view.
This breakthrough helps scientists predict how Greenland’s ice sheet will evolve, which is critical for sea-level rise projections.
Representative pic
Unlike older technology, UAVSAR’s sideways radar scanning allows researchers to map ice layers and buried objects in 3D.
Credit : NASA
If Greenland’s ice melts at accelerating rates, long-lost sites like Camp Century could resurface, revealing both history and danger.
Representative pic