NASA's Discovery of Camp Century

Deep within the heart of Greenland's massive ice sheet lies a chilling secret from the Cold War era: Camp Century, a once-thriving US military facility that has been lost to time and ice since the late 1960s. NASA's recent aerial survey has unveiled unprecedented insights into this forgotten military installation, providing a glimpse into its hidden history.

The Construction and Purpose of Camp Century

Constructed in 1959 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Camp Century was ingeniously built directly into the ice, resembling a scene from the iconic movie *The Empire Strikes Back*. At its core was the PM-2A portable nuclear reactor, designed to power this 'city under the ice,' which included accommodations for 200 soldiers along with amenities like a theater, gym, library, and even a chapel.

Although the camp was promoted as a scientific outpost and contributed to advancements in climate modeling through ice core drilling, its true intention was far more ominous. Camp Century served as a critical site for Project Iceworm, a classified initiative aimed at positioning cold-hardened Minuteman nuclear missiles across Greenland to counter the Soviet threat. The ambitious project, however, was ultimately deemed unfeasible, prompting the facility's closure in 1967 and its subsequent entombment by the accumulating layers of ice and snow.

NASA's Aerial Survey

For decades, the only glimpses of Camp Century came through ground-penetrating radar, revealing limited details about the extensive network of tunnels beneath the ice. However, everything changed in April 2023 when NASA's Earth Observatory detected something extraordinary during an ice sheet survey. The advanced Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) equipped on a Gulfstream III aircraft revealed detailed images of the underground structures with a dimensionality previously unattainable.

"While mapping the ice sheet's inner layers, we stumbled upon Camp Century,” remarked NASA JPL cryospheric scientist Alex Gardner. "We had no idea at first what we had discovered." Fellow scientist Chad Greene highlighted that the imagery allowed for a comparison with existing plans, yielding groundbreaking insights into the camp's condition after nearly 60 years buried under ice.

Environmental Concerns and Legacy

Yet the stunning UAVSAR imagery comes with caveats. Some indicators suggest potential misinterpretations, as the nuances of the radar data could mislead them about the precise depth and condition of the facility, with resulting visuals depicting the camp below the actual ice bed—miles deeper than the camp itself.

Understanding Camp Century's current state is critically important due to the hazardous legacy it harbors. Notably, the site contains significant quantities of nuclear, biological, and chemical waste that pose environmental threats as climate change progresses. NASA scientists concluded that if ice melts continue unchecked, these toxic materials could leach into the surrounding environment even before visible changes occur at the surface.

The daunting statistics speak volumes: approximately 53,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 6.3 million gallons of waste water (including sewage), and a mysterious amount of radioactive waste were left behind. Alarmingly, the Atomic Heritage Foundation estimates that the PM-2A reactor potentially contributed over 47,000 gallons of low-level radioactive waste, alongside other dangers.

The Future of Camp Century

Experts forecast that climate change could destabilize Greenland's ice sheet by 2090, exacerbating the risks posed by the abandoned facility. Camp Century's closure followed the failure of Project Iceworm due to concerns over Greenland's ice stability, leaving behind only a small outpost run jointly by the governments of Greenland and Denmark to monitor the site.

As the urgent consequences of climate change loom and the Arctic landscape shifts, understanding the hidden depths of Camp Century becomes ever more crucial. "Without detailed knowledge of ice thickness, it’s impossible to predict how ice sheets will respond to our rapidly warming climate,” warns Gardner, highlighting the need for further research.

As we uncover these lost fragments of history, the implications for military legacies, environmental stewardship, and our planet's future become clearer: we must confront the ghosts of the past for the sake of our future.