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Like the Bermuda Triangle, Area 51 is one of those long-standing mysteries that's technically been solved, but some people still believe it's not fully solved, so to speak. That is, the official explanation isn't convincing. At least, not to everyone. And, to be fair, there are things going on at Area 51 that the government doesn't want us to know about. After all, it is a secret research facility. And it's not often that they talk about what goes on in the Pentagon.
The very idea of Area 51 has fascinated people for decades. It has become an integral part of pop culture, appearing in TV series such as «The X-Files» и «Roswell» , as well as in many films. In 2019, an attempt was even made to gather people to storm Area 51 so they could find out for themselves what was really going on there. It started as a joke on Facebook, quickly went viral, and two million people confirmed their participation. In reality, only 6,000 people showed up, which is quite impressive for a joke about storming a secure government facility where attempting to storm it could result in death.
No one who arrived there in 2019 discovered aliens. In fact, no one ever did. But the facility remains closed and continues to attract public interest. Given this, why not head to the Nevada desert and find out what, according to official and unofficial reports, is going on at Area 51?
History of Area 51
Officially known as the Nevada Test and Training Range, and also encompassing Groom Lake and Homey Airport, Paradise Ranch, Ranch, Watertown, and Dreamland, Area 51 is located in the Nevada desert, just over 120 miles from Las Vegas. The facility was built in 1955 to test the Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and remains highly classified.
The US government recognized the site as a test flight range, and over the years, aircraft such as the Archangel-12, SR-71 Blackbird, and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter were tested there. The existence of the facility was officially confirmed by the CIA only in 2013.
The name "Area 51" derives from old Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) maps. The AEC used numbered grids, and "Area 51" referred to just such a grid. However, since this theory was first proposed, it has been noted that the number 51 did not appear on the AEC maps. Other theories suggest that the area received its name because the grid system was unnecessary, as it was a secret testing site. None of these theories have been confirmed.
The facility is currently operated by Edwards Air Force Base and remains closed to the public. Armed guards patrol the outside, and even entry into the airspace above is prohibited without permission. The perimeter is also monitored by cameras and motion sensors. Signs warn against the use of drones, photography, and firearms on the premises. They also warn that lethal force is authorized, so the armed guards are not just there for show.
Conspiracies surrounding Area 51
Conspiracy theories have surrounded Area 51 almost since its inception. Much of this is due to a man named Robert Lazar, whom we'll discuss in more detail later. Lazar was the first to publicly state in the 1980s that Area 51 was studying aliens and UFOs. He claimed to have worked there and had firsthand knowledge of the matter.
Lazar claimed to have worked there in 1989 on alien spacecraft and technology, causing quite a stir in the world of conspiracy theories. The most persistent of these conspiracy theories is that Area 51 is used to test and house alien craft. The most famous of these? The supposed craft that crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. The official US government statement is that there was no alien craft in Roswell; it was merely a weather balloon.
Lazar's claims, coupled with the fact that the government didn't even acknowledge Area 51's existence at the time, provided more than enough fodder for conspiracy theories. The assumption was that some whistleblower would expose it, and the government would remain completely unresponsive. By denying the entire facility's existence for 58 years, even though people could literally come and see it with their own eyes, they essentially opened the floodgates for anyone to believe anything.
It's worth remembering that this is actually a good strategy for the government. Let people believe whatever they want, and even if they stumble upon the truth, it will simply get mixed up with all these crazy conspiracy theories, and no one will believe any of it.
Another factor fueling these conspiracy theories was the fact that for 58 years, the facility had been used as a testing ground for top-secret aircraft. These were aircraft that were unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, had no official recognition, and were typically faster than anything else in the sky. In reality, these were unidentified flying objects; they just weren't alien.
There are conspiracy theories that alien autopsies were performed at Area 51, with low-budget videos even being made about them, disguised as documentaries. Lazar claimed to have reverse-engineered alien craft there, and, of course, there are conspiracy theories that the aliens who crashed at Roswell are still being held there, a key plot point in the Independence Day franchise.
Other conspiracies
Aliens are far from the only conspiracy theory surrounding Area 51. Some believe it harbors weather control technology, likely developed as part of the real-life Project Cirrus—an experiment in the 1940s and 1950s to weaponize weather and rain.
Perhaps the most widespread conspiracy theory surrounding Area 51, aside from aliens, still revolves around space. Some people still believe the moon landing was faked. The theory is that it was staged solely for propaganda purposes, to deceive the Soviet Union and improve America's image both internationally and domestically. So, instead of actually landing on the moon, which was impossible at the time, the US government simply faked the landing, filming it in a secret studio within Area 51.
In fact, there's never been a specific reason why Area 51 would be used as a filming location, other than it being a secret facility. Some concede that it could have been filmed in a Hollywood studio. Of course, much of this conspiracy theory is based on the fact that the flag moves when Buzz Aldrin drops it on the lunar surface, leading people to believe there's wind, raising the question of why there would be wind in a studio at all.
Robert Lazar
Almost all conspiracy theories can be traced back to Robert Lazar. In 1989, Lazar gave an interview to a Las Vegas journalist, in which he described his work at Area 51 on top-secret projects to reverse-engineer alien craft. He claimed to have seen these craft with his own eyes and also seen autopsy photographs. He claimed that nine crashed craft of extraterrestrial origin were located at Area 51.
Lazar came across as a man of great authority. A nuclear physicist working at Los Alamos, he had an impeccable reputation, respectability, and every reason to believe him sincere and trustworthy. Educated at MIT and Caltech, he was a leading expert in nuclear physics. At least, until someone looked into it.
Neither MIT nor CalTech have any records of Robert Lazar. He claims the government erased his record. But other researchers have reviewed his education before MIT and found that in high school, he took only one science class and barely passed the exams. He never achieved the grades required to enter MIT. Instead, records show Lazar was attending Pierce College outside Los Angeles at the same time he should have been enrolled at MIT, located on the other side of the country. That school has records of his time there.
Lazar was arrested for involvement in a prostitution ring, and his employment at Nellis Air Force Base was apparently fictitious, as was his education. However, he still has staunch supporters who believe they have proof of his honesty, including confirmation of his claims by other officials and, apparently, passing a lie detector test (though the results were later stolen).
Regarding his work at the Los Alamos laboratory, the investigation revealed that Lazar was indeed there, but did not work there. He was an employee of a subcontractor hired to perform work there.
Lazar's most notable and easily refuted claim was that he was working on alien propulsion technology using element 115, which most believed didn't exist at the time. Years later, it was created in a lab. Rather than proving Lazar's claim, this demonstrated his ignorance of the subject. Element 115, four atoms of which were produced in a particle accelerator with a half-life of milliseconds, could never have existed in the quantities Lazar claimed he used to reverse-engineer alien ship technology.
What actually exists?
So, if this was a testing site in the 1950s, and there are no aliens there, why is it still considered top secret? What's going on at Area 51 today? There are two ways to answer that question. You can either listen to what the government says, or you can ignore it. After all, if there was something to hide, would they really post it on the CIA website? Probably not.
Area 51 is still used by the US Air Force as a testing ground. The secrecy surrounding the facility during its initial construction had nothing to do with aliens; it had everything to do with the Soviet Union. They were building spy planes for use in the Cold War and didn't want the Russians to know about it. Over time, they continued to build secret aircraft there, not wanting their enemies to know about it, so everything was kept top secret.
Ironically, Area 51 is used for reverse engineering technology. However, all of this technology has terrestrial origins. If the American military manages to capture enemy aircraft, they will be taken to Area 51 for study and, if feasible, reverse engineering so that the same technology can be applied to American weapons. Or, at the very least, it will provide insight into how to detect and neutralize this technology.
This information comes from a journalist who researched and wrote a book about Area 51. If you ask the US Air Force what goes on at Area 51, or even specifically whether they reverse engineer enemy aircraft there, you'll get the standard answer that they can't discuss what goes on at such a highly guarded facility.
Much of the US military's surveillance and reconnaissance technology was likely developed at Area 51. This means it's a center of advanced espionage technology. It's where the stealth bomber was born. It's where the impossible becomes possible, so if you can imagine what they're doing there, you're probably wrong. They're working on things you can't imagine, and that's the whole point. You can't imagine it, our enemies can't imagine it, it's something extraordinary that takes the world by surprise when it's finally revealed.
Is all this really of alien origin? We'll probably never know. But if people keep wasting their time arguing about it, chances are the people working there don't care if everyone else is distracted.
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