International, Sketsa.id – NASA researchers have rediscovered an abandoned U.S. military base buried deep under Greenland’s ice sheet, a relic of the Cold War era. The find occurred during a test of a new radar system designed to scan beneath the ice.During a research flight over the Arctic Circle last spring, scientists detected a vast network of tunnels and structures hidden within the ice.
Initially mistaken for remnants of a lost civilization, the site was later identified as Camp Century, a secret military outpost built as part of the Pentagon’s covert Project Iceworm. This project aimed to create an underground nuclear missile launch site targeting the Soviet Union, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Camp Century, constructed in 1959, was abandoned in 1967 due to the instability of Greenland’s shifting ice, which made the planned missile network unfeasible. Now buried at least 100 feet (30 meters) under the ice, the base’s tunnel system spans roughly 9,800 feet (3 kilometers), as revealed by NASA’s radar scans, per Newsweek.
NASA scientist Chad Greene, part of the discovery team, described the experience: “It felt like flying over another planet, imagining how anything could survive there.”
The rediscovery highlights the U.S.’s extensive Cold War presence in Greenland, where, at its peak, it maintained 17 military bases with around 10,000 troops under a 1951 agreement with Denmark. Today, only about 200 U.S. personnel remain at Pituffik Space Base.
The find also underscores ongoing geopolitical tensions. Former President Donald Trump has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, citing its strategic resources and national security concerns due to growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic.
In March, Trump suggested he would seize the Danish autonomous territory “by any means,” not ruling out military force.Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected the idea, stating, “Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede echoed this, telling Reuters in December, “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and never will be. We must not lose our long fight for freedom.” (*)
