Introduction

In the Nevada dessert, there is a military base located near Groom Lake; 90 miles North of Las Vegas; in the 51st area of the dessert. It shares a border with the Yucca Flat region of the Nevada Test Site, the location of 739 out of the 928 nuclear tests conducted by the United States Department of Energy. In older maps of the Nevada Test Site, there used to appear an area labeled as Area 51 the location of the supposed military base. Newer maps, no longer display this label. The reason for this sudden secrecy is unknown, yet there are those who claim that they know

A satellite view of Area 51

 Area 51's coordinates are 3714'36.52"N, 11548'41.16"W. For decades, the base remained hidden from almost everyone, but in 1988 a Soviet satellite photographed the base.
Area 51 is also known by various names like Paradise Ranch, Watertown Strip, Dreamland, The Box, Red Square and Groom Lake. The name alone inspires thoughts of government conspiracies, secret "black" aircraft and alien technologies. Facts, myths and legends weave together in such a way that it can become difficult to separate reality from fiction.

This satellite image of Area 51 shows dry Groom Lake just northeast of the site

What is the true purpose of Area 51 ?

Since Area 51 is a secret military base, its true purpose is not completely known. Yet many hypothesis have been introduced and a few are almost definitely true. Area 51 was originally designed to be a safe place for the president and the rest of the government to stay in during times of war or nuclear threat. Area 51 was built to withstand a nuclear attack, since it is almost entirely underground. It is also said that Area 51 is large enough to house the entire U.S. government, meaning it must be a huge underground facility. It is believed that the place has almost all the tools the government has in Washington, meaning satellite control, radar, communications manipulation, and other features.

Widely accepted also is that Area 51 is a staging ground for the building and testing of ultra-modern aircraft and other technology.

Area 51 Security and Secrecy

The airspace above Area 51 is known as R-4808 and is restricted to all commercial and military flights not originating from the base itself . The military classifies Area 51 as a Military Operating Area (MOA). The borders of Area 51 are not fenced, but are marked with orange poles and warning signs. Rumors circulate among conspiracy theorists over how many unfortunate truth seekers have died as a result of tromping around the grounds of Area 51, though most believe that trespassers are dealt with in a much less violent manner.

Area 51 is surrounded by warning signs like this one

 Pairs of men who don't appear to be in the military patrol the perimeter. These guards are likely civilians hired from firms like Wackenhut or EG&G. Observers call them "cammo (sic) dudes," because they often wear desert camouflage.

Sometimes, helicopters provide additional support. There are rumors that the helicopter pilots occasionally use illegal tactics like hovering very low over trespassers to harass them. The infamous cammo dudes Other security measures include sensors planted around the perimeter of the base. These sensors detect movement, and some believe they can even discern the difference between an animal and a human being.

Scientific Projects Undertaken at Area 51:

1.Aircrafts:
The U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine and high-altitude aircraft. Long, wide and straight wings give the U-2 glider like characteristics. It is designed to fly at least 15,000 feet higher than any airplane had ever flown and had the best highest-resolution cameras in the world.

Suntan-- A successor to the U-2,flies at speeds up to mach 2.5 (almost 2,000 miles per hour).
The A-12 , which was later known as the SR71 "Blackbird," became the actual successor to the U-2. The A-12 was a prototype model that gradually evolved into the SR-71. These planes could fly up to mach 3 (2,300 miles per hour) and could fly at altitudes of 90,000 feet.

Tacit Blue and Have BlueDesigned to fly low over battle operations as a reconnaissance vehicle. Have Blue first arrived at Area 51 in 1977. The Stealth Fighter remained a secret until the Air Force officially unveiled it to the public in 1990.

F117 Stealth Fighter:

Code named Senior Trend and known as the Hopeless Diamond,

the F-117 Stealth Fighter was designed in the late

seventies. So stealthy, aircrews sometimes find dead bats whose own sonar is so confused by the signal return from the F-117 that they crash into parked craft. The hero of the Gulf war, the Stealth Fighter is still tasked to take out the toughest targets and is only now becoming vulnerable to enemy radar.

Black Manta:

The Black Manta is widely thought to be the successor to the Stealth Fighter. The Black Manta is a different type of spy plane. Also known as the TR-3A, it may have been that the U.S. used this plane during the Gulf War.

Electrochromatic Technology:
The Electrochromatic Technology project is not an aircraft project.

Based on coating materials with millions of tiny little cameras and displays.
The cameras take in light information and display what the cameras saw on the other side of the material.

Supposed to develop daytime-stealth capabilities.

Attempts to make people and objects semi-invisible during the daytime

Invisible Fighter
The Vehicle: Stealthy, unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

The Technology:

Comprise of thousands of tiny sensors that function as video-cameras that take images of background sceneries, transferring them to the other panels on the other side of the aircraft. Gives the illusion that the aircraft is almost transparent. What the ground observer sees is whatever background images behind (or above) the body of the aircraft that are transposed to the "observer's" side of the body of the aircraft.

Aurora Project:

The Aurora spyplane is a project developed at Area 51. The amazing fact about this plane is that it is believed that the plane may be able to go faster than mach 10.

Although this seems to be ridiculous, radar around the country has measured unidentified aircraft that went faster than mach 7, and sonic booms of unknown aircraft have been heard throughout the country.
The plane accomplishes this by going out of the atmosphere and into space, where there is less friction. It is believed the plane is piloted, and not manually controlled.

Roswell UFO Incident

Roswell incident ranks as the most publicized and controversial of alleged UFO incidents.
The Roswell UFO Incident refers to the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. On July 8, 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) public information officer Walter Haut in Roswell, New Mexico, issued a press release stating that personnel from the field's 509th Bomb Group had recovered a crashed "flying disk" from a ranch near Roswell, sparking intense media interest.

Roswell Daily Record , July 8, 1947, announcing the "capture" of a "flying saucer."

 The following day, the press reported that Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force (Roger M. Ramey) stated that, in fact, a radar-tracking balloon had been recovered by the RAAF personnel, not a "flying disc." The incident was quickly forgotten and almost completely ignored, even by UFO researchers, for more than 30 years. Then in 1978, Major Jesse Marcel who was involved with the original recovery of the debris in 1947, expressed his belief that the military had covered up the recovery of an alien spacecraft. In response to these reports, and after congressional inquiries, the General Accounting Office launched an inquiry and directed the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force to conduct an internal investigation. The result was summarized in two reports. The first, released in 1995, concluded that the reported recovered material in 1947 was likely debris from a secret government program called Project Mogul , which involved high altitude balloons meant to detect sound waves generated by Soviet atomic bomb tests and ballistic missiles. The second report, released in 1997, concluded that the aliens observed were actually anthropomorphic test dummies that were carried aloft by U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons for scientific research.

Reverse Engineering
In 1987, a man named Robert Lazar shocked the world when he went on television claiming to have been part of an operation that worked on alien technology. He claimed to have worked from 1988 until 1989 as a physicist at an area called S-4 (Sector Four), allegedly located near Groom Lake, Nevada. According to Lazar, S-4 served as a hidden military location for the study and possible reverse engineering of extraterrestrial flying saucers. Lazar says he saw nine different discs there and provides details on their mode of propulsion. However, his credibility has come under fire after "schools he was supposed to have attended had no record of him, while others in the scientific community had no memory of ever meeting him."

Highway 375, the Extraterrestrial Highway in Nevada

Black Mailbox
At night, lots of people camp at the famous 'Black Mailbox'. The 'Black Mailbox' is no longer black, as it has been replaced. The mailbox is located at the intersection between Highway 375 and Mailbox Road. It was replaced by a bullet proof white mailbox because it had been shot at many times, possibly by people under the impression that the mailbox belonged to Area 51 and they would find classified documents inside. The area around the 'Black Mailbox' is a popular place to stay the night to observe the skies above Area 51.

The black mailbox (now white)

Conspiracy Cover-Ups
Numerous high-profile UFO researchers discount the possibility that the Roswell UFO incident had anything to do with aliens because Area 51 has a history of government cover-ups. Not all conspiracy theories concerning Area 51 involve little green (or gray) men. Some revolve around a shadowy organization (or group of organizations) dedicated to bringing about the New World Order . Many people believe that UFOs and reverse engineering stories are just tactics these organizations use to distract the public from its real goal . They believe that the rumors helped maintain secrecy over Area 51's actual operations.

Cleaning Up Area 51
In 1980, the government authorized a program to remove irradiated soil from around Groom Lake. Surrounding cities reported increases in cancer rates and many have sued the government (with varying degrees of success), claiming the tests caused them to get sick. In the 1980s, in order to dispose classified technology and vehicles. crews at Area 51 dug large, open pits and dumped toxic materials into them. They burned the materials using jet fuel and suffered exposure to chemicals and fumes. President Clinton signed an Executive Order exempting Area 51 from environmental regulation in September, 1995. Judge Pro eventually dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that investigation into the claims constituted a breach of national security. Today, Area 51 allows the EPA to inspect the facility to ensure it meets environmental requirements. However, all reports are classified and can't be published.

Portrayal in media and popular culture

Novels, films, television programs, and other fictional portrayals of Area 51 describe itor a fictional counterpartas a heaven for extraterrestrials, time travel, and sinister conspiracies, often linking it with the Roswell UFO incident.

In the 1996 action film Independence Day, the United States military uses alien technology captured at Roswell to attack the invading alien fleet from Area 51.
The "Hangar 51" government warehouse of the Indiana Jones films stores, among other exotic tic items, the Ark of the Covenant and an alien corpse from Roswell. The television series Seven Days takes place inside Area 51, with the base containing a covert NSA time travel operation using alien technology recovered from Roswell. The 2005 video game Area 51 is set in the base, and mentions the Roswell and moon landing hoax conspiracy theories.

 On July 14th, 2003, the Federal Government admitted the facility's existence The base is absent from Federal publications Inquiries to the government regarding the facility are rejected for reasons of national security.

Conclusion
So this was, not all, but quite a large glimpse of the mysterious place area 51 and the probable activities going on there. Skeptics will perhaps question the validity of such claims. But then, they say real scepticism is about self-criticism, questioning, and the passionate search for evidence, not stubborn dismissal to new thoughts and possibilities. So we have presented some perspectives to some strange facts and observations, now its your turn to decide whether to believe or to dismiss.

Conclusion:
The UFO theories have become a symbol of government secrets and the universe of information too sensitive for public consumption. Area 51 is just one example of classified projects that shows that government secrets are a fact of life. National security has a real place in all of this stuff. There is no way to tell your friends without telling your enemies. A lot of Americans woke up to the fact that there's a lot going on that they don't get told about.