How Area 51 became America's most famous alien and UFO mystery

Area 51 has long been considered as one of the most secretive bases on the planet. This is because the U.S. government wouldn't even admit that it existed until 2013. This, along with reports of strange lights as well as unexplained aircraft in the sky above it, made many believe that it’s where the government had hidden aliens and UFOs. 

But how true are these claims, and how did this base become so closely linked to alien-related activity? Here’s the full story.

During the Cold War, the CIA notes that Area 51 was used as a top-secret military installation. The site was used to test aircraft, such as the U-2 and A-12. At that time, these aircraft were so far ahead of anything the public had seen that the sightings of them likely fueled the "otherworldly visitor" theories. 

“What's important about the public fascination with UFOs and Area 51 is what it says about our human nature and our perspectives on our place in the cosmos,” said Bill Diamond, the CEO and president of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute). “It says that we want to believe we're not alone,” he added.

Interestingly, a man named Bob Lazar went on Las Vegas news station KLAS and said he'd worked at Area 51 as a physicist in 1989. He added that he was studying and helping recreate alien spacecraft for the military.

But when reviewed, it was found that the schools he mentioned he went to (MIT and Caltech) had no records of him, according to National Geographic. In fact, even officials denied he had ever worked at the Los Alamos National Lab as he claimed. Though engineers at Area 51 really were reverse-engineering advanced aircraft. But they just came from other countries.

One of the reasons for that reputation is the high-tech aircraft that have flown out of the base. This includes the A-12, which alone flew out more than 2,850 times, and its shape and size can easily be mistaken for something that's not from our planet.

In a 2011 book on Area 51, sources told journalist Annie Jacobsen, "The aircraft’s titanium body, moving as fast as a bullet, would reflect the sun’s rays in a way that could make anyone think, UFO.”

Getting anywhere near Area 51 is not easy at all. The area has restricted airspace, and there are thousands of security cameras watching over the base. There are also signs outside that warn that deadly force is authorized. Even so, curious visitors keep coming to the location.

There are also many YouTubers who have made videos in front of Area 51. In fact, a Dutch YouTuber and his friend were caught trespassing and were fined $2,280. They also spent three days in jail after an initial year-long sentence was suspended.

Even with the base's reputation, the scientists as well as SETI do not look to the base for answers. Commenting on this, Bill Diamond of SETI said, "If you think about a civilization with the technology to bring hardware and/or biology to Earth, the likelihood that they would be incompetent enough to crash land anywhere on the planet is absolutely zero."