The discovery of the Titanic was actually part of a secret U.S. military operation to reclaim wayward nuclear submarines, according to a report by the National Geographic Museum. Robert Ballard, an oceanographer and Navy officer, was building an underwater research vessel to find the Titanic, but was unable to find adequate funding. The Navy agreed to allow Ballard to hunt for the Titanic only if he promised to help find the Thresher and the Scorpion, two sunken nuclear submarines on the Atlantic ocean floor. The mission was shrouded in secrecy and kept the media informed. The Titanic was discovered 12,500 feet beneath the Atlantic’s surface, the final resting place for the 1,500 passengers who lost their lives in 1912.