NASA scientists rediscover abandoned US nuclear base in Greenland

NASA scientists flying over Greenland have rediscovered an old Cold War relic: a secret US nuclear-missile site buried beneath the ice for decades, Report informs via Daily Beast.

Scientists were testing a new radar instrument that can see through ice last spring when they stumbled upon a network of tunnels and structures that turned out to be the long-abandoned outpost, known as Camp Century, The Wall Street Journal noted.

Amid President Donald Trump‘s newfound efforts to seize control of the island, the rediscovered military base is a reminder of America’s long - and often contentious - relationship with the Danish territory.

The base was partially built in 1959 as the Cold War was reaching a fever pitch. However, the United States decided to scrap the project in 1967 after determining that the ice sheet was too unstable to support missile launches. According to the WSJ, the site had been designed to house 600 medium-range ballistic missiles.

Around 150 US troops are currently stationed in Greenland at the Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), a dramatic downsizing from the 10,000 troops that filled 17 bases across the territory during the Cold War.

A 1951 treaty with Denmark granting the US the right to build and maintain military bases on Greenland remains in effect—a point Danish politicians have repeatedly raised in attempts to placate Trump’s interest taking control of the territory.

After Vice President J.D. Vance visited Pituffik Space Base for three hours in March in a bizarre attempt at geopolitical posturing, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen remarked that the 1951 treaty “offers ample opportunity for the United States to have a much stronger military presence in Greenland.”