What Is Area 51? What’s Going On There Amid Alien Conspiracy Theories

There are numerous alien and UFO conspiracy theories, and those who are familiar with them probably hear about Area 51.

What Is Area 51?

Area 51 is a US Air Force military installation at Groom Lake in southern Nevada. The government had denied its existence, and it was only in 2013 that the CIA and the Obama administration admitted it.

Area 51 employees fly in to work at the facility. They are on one of several unmarked aircraft allowed to fly over the airspace above, and they are coming and going from a restricted terminal at McCarran International Airport. A further layer of secrecy was added when satellite photos of the installation were withheld until 2018.

Area 51 is now visible on Google Maps. However, the government said its only official use is as a flight testing facility.

Although the government has already acknowledged Area 51, it is not open to the public. Also, it has remained a top-secret military facility, heavily guarded with 24-hour surveillance.

Alien and UFO Conspiracy Theories in Area 51

In 1989, Robert Lazar claimed to work on alien technology in Area 51. He told Las Vegas TV reporter George Knapp that he had seen autopsy photos of extraterrestrials within the facility and that the US government had utilized it to examine recovered extraterrestrial spacecraft.

Lazar's testimony has since been widely regarded as phony, however, due to allegations that he does not appear to possess the two degrees he claimed to have earned from Caltech and MIT, as well as his arrest for "felony pandering" after it was later reduced to aiding and abetting prostitution.

Furthermore, Jason Sands asserted that he was directly aware of the US government's secret regarding the reverse-engineering effort for UFOs. He told UFO specialist Courtney Marchesani about an alleged encounter with an alien, and Marchesani retold the story in a podcast.

In the Nevada desert, Sands claimed an unexpected contact with non-human intelligence (NHI) while employed by the USAF's covert UFO crash retrieval team near Area 51. A convoy apparently left Nellis on the range, with the commander telling them not to speak to anyone.

On the road, though, one person in military fatigues approached them. Rolling down the window, Sands spoke with the person and asked if they needed assistance while seated in the passenger seat. It reportedly requested him to provide a spare part for its ship. Sands said it was "not a human being" but rather "another type of being."

Sands advised the extraterrestrial to seek assistance at Area 51, but it reportedly declined. According to Marchesani, that was all she had heard about the story,

Sands, however, is a controversial figure in UFO circles. He reportedly has made several absurd claims about his employment with the USAF. Although the Air Force employed him in some capacity, there is no hard evidence that he was part of any UFO recovery crew.

Check out more news and information on Area 51 in Science Times.