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 Spanish never found Machu Picchu and so did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. The conquistadors had notes of a place called "Piccho", although no record of a Spanish visit exists. The types of sacred rocks defaced by the conquistadors in other locations are untouched at Machu Picchu. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle overgrew the site, and few outside the immediate area knew of its existence. The site may have been discovered and plundered in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns. Some evidence indicates that German engineer J. M. von Hassel arrived earlier.