Nothing E.T. This Way Comes: Debunking the “Alien Spacecraft Under Greenland’s Ice” Rumour
This month, a wave of online posts and viral videos began claiming that an alien spacecraft was buried beneath the ice of Greenland. The story spread rapidly across social media platforms, often accompanied by dramatic captions, grainy satellite imagery, and speculative narration suggesting that governments were hiding evidence of extraterrestrial contact. Some versions of the claim went even further, asserting that recent political interest in Greenland was motivated by secret knowledge of alien technology hidden beneath the ice.
Despite the sensational framing, there is no scientific, historical, or governmental evidence supporting the existence of an alien spacecraft under Greenland’s ice. What does exist is a well-documented example of how conspiracy theories are constructed: by cherry-picking unrelated facts, stripping them of context, and weaving them into a compelling but entirely fictional narrative.
What Was Actually Discovered Beneath Greenland’s Ice
The origin of this conspiracy can be traced to a genuine scientific discovery announced in 2024. During a NASA-led radar survey of the Greenland Ice Sheet, researchers identified the remains of an abandoned Cold War–era military installation buried deep beneath the ice. This installation was Camp Century, a U.S. Army base constructed in 1959 as part of Project Iceworm.
- Camp Century was designed to test the feasibility of building military infrastructure beneath polar ice. It consisted of tunnels, living quarters, laboratories, and power facilities carved directly into the ice sheet.
- The base was abandoned in 1967 due to structural instability and environmental concerns, after which snowfall and ice accumulation gradually buried it.
The recent radar imagery did not reveal anything new in principle; Camp Century has been known to historians and scientists for decades. What was new was the clarity with which modern radar systems could visualise the buried structures. Media headlines referring to a “city under the ice” were metaphorical, not literal, but the language proved fertile ground for misinterpretation.
No Evidence of Alien Technology
No credible scientific organisation has reported the discovery of alien technology beneath Greenland. Neither NASA, the European Space Agency, nor Danish or Greenlandic geological authorities have suggested anything remotely extraterrestrial. The Greenland Ice Sheet, which in places is more than three kilometres thick, covers bedrock, ancient geological formations, and limited human-made structures such as Camp Century.
- Claims of alien spacecraft typically rely on low-resolution satellite images, unusual shadows, or geometric patterns seen in ice or snow.
- These visual artefacts are well understood phenomena and often result from natural ice deformation, radar reflection effects, or human pattern recognition biases.
- The human brain is exceptionally good at seeing familiar shapes even where none exist, a phenomenon known as pareidolia.
Crucially, no physical samples, materials, instruments, or verified sensor data have ever been presented to support claims of alien craft under Greenland. In science, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and in this case, no evidence exists at all.
How Conspiracy Theories Are Built From Cherry-Picked Details
Conspiracy theories rarely invent facts from nothing. Instead, they take real information and rearrange it to tell a different story. In this case, several unrelated elements are combined to create the illusion of a hidden truth.
- First, there is a genuine scientific discovery: radar imaging of buried structures.
- Second, there is historical secrecy associated with Cold War military projects.
- Third, there is political interest in Greenland’s strategic location.
- By placing these elements side by side and implying causal connections, conspiracy narratives suggest that something far more dramatic is being concealed.
What is omitted is context. Camp Century was not secret in the modern sense; its existence has been publicly documented for decades. Radar imaging is not evidence of unknown objects, and political interest in Greenland has clear economic and strategic explanations that have nothing to do with extraterrestrials.
Another common feature of conspiratorial thinking is the appeal to hidden knowledge. Claims are framed as revelations that authorities supposedly do not want the public to know, even though the underlying facts are openly available in scientific literature and mainstream reporting.
The Political Angle and the Greenland Connection
The resurgence of this conspiracy coincided with renewed public discussion about Greenland’s geopolitical importance. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in Greenland, citing its strategic location, Arctic shipping routes, and national security considerations. These statements attracted global media attention and diplomatic responses from Denmark and Greenland’s own government.
- Conspiracy theorists have attempted to connect these political discussions to the alien spacecraft narrative, suggesting that geopolitical manoeuvring is motivated by secret knowledge of extraterrestrial technology.
- This claim collapses under even minimal scrutiny.
The reasons Greenland matters geopolitically are well understood. The Arctic is increasingly important due to climate change, emerging shipping lanes, rare earth mineral deposits, and military positioning. These factors are openly discussed by governments and defence analysts and require no speculative explanations.
Greenland’s government has consistently emphasised its autonomy and rejected any notion of being acquired by another nation. There is no credible evidence that political interest in Greenland is driven by anything other than terrestrial concerns.
Why These Stories Spread So Easily
Alien conspiracies persist because they are emotionally engaging. They offer mystery, hidden knowledge, and a sense of being part of a group that has access to forbidden truths. Social media algorithms amplify this effect by rewarding sensational content with greater visibility, regardless of accuracy.
- In contrast, scientific explanations are often complex, cautious, and less emotionally dramatic.
- A Cold War military base buried by decades of snowfall does not compete well with the idea of an ancient alien spacecraft, even though the former is demonstrably true.
This imbalance does not make conspiracy theories credible; it simply makes them shareable. The responsibility lies with both content creators and consumers to distinguish between evidence-based claims and imaginative speculation.
Conclusion
There is no alien spacecraft buried beneath the ice of Greenland. The structures detected by radar are the remains of Camp Century, a documented Cold War military project. Claims to the contrary rely on misinterpreted imagery, selective use of facts, and the conflation of unrelated political and scientific topics.
Greenland’s geopolitical importance is real, but it is rooted in climate science, economics, and human strategy, not extraterrestrial secrecy. The persistence of this conspiracy highlights how easily compelling stories can overshadow evidence, especially in an online environment that rewards sensationalism.
Curiosity about the universe is healthy, but it must be grounded in critical thinking and verifiable data. In this case, the truth beneath the ice is far less fantastical than the fiction — and far more instructive about how misinformation spreads.
Sources and References
- NASA Earth Observatory – Camp Century Radar Imaging
- Jerusalem Post – NASA Discovers Cold War Base Under Ice
- Evening Standard – Abandoned City Beneath Greenland Ice
- Camp Century – Historical Overview
- Proposed U.S. Acquisition of Greenland
- Live Science – Misinterpreted Antarctic Structures
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