Featured Image Credit: Education Images / Contributor/ DigitalGlobe/ScapeWare3d / Contributor / Getty
Rumours around Area 51 have been around for decades, with many thinking it's a huge government cover-up for studying extra-terrestrial species.
Located deep in the Nevada desert at Groom Lake, the top-secret facility has fuelled people's endless conspiracy theories and UFO ideology.
Who can forget the infamous 2019 Facebook event: 'They Can't Stop All of Us', which jokingly persuaded people to storm Area 51 and uncover its secrets?
However, the CIA insists that Area 51 is merely a US air base and nothing more. They have repeatedly clarified that it is not a site for testing alien technology, nor does it house secret samples from UFOs.
Advert
The site is used for testing out new planes and drones away from prying eyes.
Over the years, it has been essential in developing famous aircraft like the U-2 spy plane, which played a significant role during the Cold War.
The U-2 was designed for high-altitude reconnaissance missions, making it difficult to detect.
Area 51's true hidden purpose is key to its reputation.
But it also means that any UFO that is spotted near there is most likely an experimental spy plane that's not listed on public flight plans - sorry to kill the excitement.
The Air Force acquired Area 51 in the 1950s, and it has been a hub for testing and experiments ever since.
However, the US government only officially acknowledged its existence in 2013.
'The base itself is fairly small, but the restricted area around it is over 90,000 acres [36,000 hectares] — partly to prevent prying eyes and partly because they need to test classified aircraft,' said Benjamin Radford, an American folklorist, investigator and sceptic who's written several articles regarding the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51.
'It's mostly conspiracy theorists and media who call it Area 51. To the U.S. government, it's simply the Nevada Test and Training Range, part of Edwards Air Force Base.'
Despite official statements, those who believe Area 51 is more than just a testing base are still unconvinced.
After all, they argue that if the government had extra-terrestrial technology or alien specimens, it would be the last to publicly admit it.
'The basic, flawed premise behind the Area 51 mythology can be boiled down to this: The government won't reveal what's going on there, so it must be something ultra-super-amazingly secret,' Radford added.
In the end, people tend to believe what they want about Area 51, and official announcements are unlikely to change their minds.
