Storm Area 51: They Can't Stop All Of Us

Area 51 in Nevada is the Holy Grail of secret bases and has fuelled conspiracy theories for decades, with the likes of Bob Lazar feeding speculation with claims that the secretive based is involved in a coverup of extraterrestrial visitations to Earth.

A Facebook group has reached critical viral mass over the weekend after it posted an event calling for people to "storm" the restricted area and find out once and for all what secrets are being hidden at the base in southeastern Nevada.

The event now has a staggering 1.3 million people listed as attendees, meaning that what started as a silly, tongue-in-cheek post might now result in conspiracy theorists actually showing up at the remote, 4,000-square-mile patch of desert.

Little detail is given by the group. Just the message "we will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Let's see them aliens."

As well as the million plus confirmed attendees, a further one million people are now following the event on Facebook, presumably to see if anyone tries their luck and pushes past the boarders of a military base where "use of deadly force authorized" signs are displayed.

'Storm Area 51: They Can't Stop All Of Us' have given a date for this unauthorised raid, September 20th at around dawn.

Area 51 is officially an outpost of Edwards Air Force Base. A spokesperson for the Air Force told NBC News that they were aware of the looming threat of invasion from Facebook, but declined to comment on the matter further.

The highly classified Area 51 is just a small part of the the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The whole test range covers an area of 4,531 square miles. Area 51 is located almost in the centre of this complex in an area called Groom Lake. Its exact size is not known, but the area of heavily controlled airspace above Area 51 covers 575 square miles.

All this means that even if the online army of people descend on the base, they'll have an area about the size of Houston, Texas to explore in the hopes of finding hangars storing alien spacecraft or hidden entrances to secret bunkers.

Although conspiracy theorists seem to feel they have a right to know what's being hidden at Area 51, the US government is under no obligation to tell citizens how the defence budget is being spent there. The facility at Groom Lake is classified as top secret to preserve and protect national security and to keep the base's secrets away from the prying eyes of the country's enemies.

We do know a little about the history of Area 51, since the government finally admitted its existence in 2013. Researchers have uncovered in formerly classified CIA documents that the base is a flight testing facility.

The base is where the Lockheed U-2 spy plane was developed and tested, as well as the A-12 reconnaissance plane, also known as OXCART, and the stealth fighter F-117 Nighthawk.

The Facebook group behind the campaign now have an official website for the event where they are attempting to cash in on the event's viral success by selling "I survived Area 51" t-shirts. We're sure more people are likely to buy the official shirt than risk being shot while trespassing in the Nevada desert.