Deep in the Nevada desert is a mysterious block of land called Area 51.
The notorious US air base, believed to be where the military meet and communicate with aliens, is closely guarded at all times
The site, a detachment of California's Edwards Air Force Base, is tucked away between barren mountains, making it impossible for anyone without top-level security clearance to reach.
In 2013 the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) acknowledged Area 51’s exact location in Nevada, near Groom Lake, in response to a Freedom of Information request.
The strip of wasteland in the Mojava Desert, which has been in military hands since before World War Two, had never previously been pinpointed. Before 2013, the very existence of Area 51 was redacted from all requests for information to the media and UFO hunters.
It was President Obama who lifted the lid on this most private part of the United States when he became the first President to acknowledge it by name in a speech.
In the audience was the actress Shirley MacLaine , who is a long-time believer in alien life.
This was tantalising, but did nothing to explain the wall of silence that existed before.
If the Area 51 files are declassified, it could mark a remarkable breakthrough, considering its actual existence was only officially confirmed three years ago.
So is the truth really out there?
UFOs
Beyond the gate, cameras see every angle. On the distant hilltop, there's a white pickup truck with a tinted windshield peering down on everything below. Locals says the base knows every desert tortoise and jackrabbit that hops the fence. Others claim there are embedded sensors in the approaching road.
What exactly goes on inside of Area 51 has led to decades of wild speculation. There are, of course, the alien conspiracies that galactic visitors are tucked away somewhere inside. One of the more colorful rumors insists the infamous 1947 Roswell crash was actually a Soviet aircraft piloted by mutated midgets and the wreckage remains on the grounds of Area 51. Some even believe that the U.S. government filmed the 1969 moon landing in one of the base's hangars.
For all the myths and legends, what's true is that Area 51 is real and still very active. There may not be aliens or a moon landing movie set inside those fences, but something is going on and only a select few are privy to what's happening further down that closely-monitored wind-swept Nevada road. "The forbidden aspect of Area 51 is what makes people want to know what's there," says aerospace historian and author Peter Merlin who's been researching Area 51 for more than three decades.
"And there sure is still a lot going on in there."
What do you think?