NASA's radar tech unveils Cold War relic beneath Greenland ice
NASA scientists have rediscovered the former military base Camp Century in Greenland. The discovery was made during tests of a device used to study the interior of glaciers. Although the base's existence was no longer a secret, the new technology has made it possible to see its structure.
As reported by TVN24, in April, NASA scientists, while testing new radar technology, accidentally rediscovered the former military base Camp Century beneath the ice of Greenland. The base, built during the Cold War, was part of the Iceworm project, which aimed to create a network of bases housing nuclear weapons.
Initially, we had no idea what it was. We were looking for the bottom of a glacier and suddenly Camp Century appeared," said Alex Gardner, one of the scientists involved in the project, as quoted by TVN24.
Known as the "city under the ice," the complex consists of a network of tunnels drilled into the ice cover. Camp Century, built in 1960, had a permanent staff of 200 people and was equipped with a cinema, gym, and library. Scientific research was conducted there for five years, providing valuable data for climatologists.
According to CBS News, the base was abandoned in 1967 and over time became buried under accumulating snow and ice. The base was abandoned due to maintenance difficulties and environmental contamination risks.
New technology allowed for an inside look
The new UAVSAR technology enabled a detailed visualisation of the base's structure, which was previously impossible. The radar detected the object 240 kilometres east of the Pituffik base. The base had previously been detected as an anomaly in measurements.
In the new data, individual structures in the secret city are visible in a way they have never been seen before," said Greene, who collaborates with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Previous scans used a type of radar that pointed straight down to the ground and generated a two-dimensional scan of structures buried under the ice. Greene's flight used synthetic aperture radar, which can create maps with "greater dimensionality". NASA's discovery demonstrates how technology can reveal hidden secrets of the past.
