Machu Picchu Base Admiralty Bay. Machu Picchu Base conducts annual scientific expeditions to Antarctica. The base carries out a variety of scientific projects such as research into krill and its potential as an alternative human food source, as well as geological, biological, hydrographic, and geophysical research, under the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty. The base operates radar measuring upper atmospheric winds, and supplying data on the deterioration of the ozone layer. As Antarctica is a continent of valuable strategic, ecological, and economic importance, Peru has an interest in maintaining its status as a non-militarized, nuclear-free zone of peace, and in preserving its environment,
Machu Picchu then crossed a pass and into the Pampaconas Valley where he found more ruins heavily buried in the jungle undergrowth at Espíritu Pampa, which he named "Trombone Pampa". As was the case with Machu Picchu, the site was so heavily overgrown that Bingham could only note a few of the buildings. In 1964, Gene Savoy further explored the ruins at Espiritu Pampa and revealed the full extent of the site, identifying it as Vilcabamba Viejo where the Incas fled after the Spanish drove them from Vitcos. Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in 1912 under the sponsorship of Yale University and