In today’s world, where interests in unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and government secrecy are rampant, a former NASA official is offering a different perspective, casting skepticism on the notion of aliens visiting Earth.

Joseph Gutheinz, who once served as a senior special agent for NASA’s Office of Inspector General and now works as a criminal defense attorney, suggests that science, rather than speculation, should guide the discussion.

“Prove it. Honestly, prove it,” he said to those who believe in the presence of UFOs on Earth.

“Claims of UFO sightings date back to the 1940s, and then there’s the lore of Area 51 allegedly harboring UFOs,” he explained to Fox News Digital. “It’s about time someone thoroughly examines Area 51.”

He pointed to moons like Europa, Ganymede, Titan, and Triton as the only plausible places for primitive life in our solar system. 

“If there is life on any of those moons, it’s possible. Again, it is primitive, it is microorganisms, it’s nothing that’s going to visit us in a flying saucer.”

When asked whether such sightings could be explained as natural or spiritual phenomena, he suggested that it could be government testing.

“If you’re seeing something up there, and it’s real, it’s coming from the Chinese or the Russians or your next-door neighbor flying around with their drone,” he said.

A NASA logo is displayed at the entrance to the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building on June 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Historical military secrecy, Gutheinz suggested, may have played a major role in fostering the UFO myths.

“I believe early on in the 1940s when all these UFO stories started coming up, it was because the military was probably testing some aircraft, and they didn’t want the Russians to know about it,” he said. 

“And so, if the UFO cover worked, and I would not be surprised if there are some people in the military and the government that played along with that in order to conceal our stealth technology, that is really remarkable, and they just don’t want to share that with other countries.”

“The bottom line is, I think that we use the UFO cover to hide a lot of things.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to NASA for comment.