Editing SPOILER: Hopewell Facility (section)

== UFO and conspiracy theories concerning Area 51 ==
Its secretive nature and undoubted connection to classified aircraft research, together with reports of unusual phenomena, have led Area 51 to become a centerpiece of modern [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] and [[conspiracy theory]] [[folklore]].  Some of the unconventional activities claimed to be underway at Area 51 include:

*the storage, examination, and [[reverse engineering]] of crashed [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] spacecraft (including material supposedly recovered at [[Roswell UFO incident|Roswell]]), the study of their occupants (living and dead), and the manufacture of aircraft based on alien technology. [[Bob Lazar]] claimed to have been involved in such activities.
*meetings or joint undertakings with extraterrestrials.
*the development of exotic [[energy weapons]] (for [[Strategic_Defense_Initiative|SDI]] applications or otherwise) or means of [[weather control]].
*activities related to a supposed shadowy [[world government]].

Some claim an extensive underground facility has been constructed at Groom Lake (or nearby Papoose Lake) in which to conduct these activities.  Others, however, claim that the most secret work previously done at Groom was quietly moved to [[Dugway Proving Ground]] in [[Utah]] in the mid 1990s, and that the continued secrecy around Groom is largely an attempt at misdirection.