The majority of UFO conspiracy theories originate in the United States, whose populace have good reason to mistrust their government and military. But hey, there are shady members of the establishment wherever you go in the world! Which is why, for years, UFOlogists have been asking questions about the Pine Gap base in Australia. Run by both Australian and American military personnel, found way away in the outback, nobody actually knows what happens there. It opened in the seventies, with a staff of 300, which has tripled in the intervening years. Members of NASA have gone to work there. Pine Gap's official title is that it's a Joint Defence Space Research Facility. Edward Snowden even called out Pine Gap for being one of the places the US ran their secret, illegal NSA surveillance programs. And it just so happens that Pine Gap and the surrounding area is a hotspot for UFO sightings. Either the base is a place where the military makes contact, or at least monitors the comings and goings of extraterrestrials.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
