For decades humans have wondered whether we’re alone in the universe and now many are convinced of extraterrestrial activity

To explore this the U.S. Congress is holding an open hearing about UFOs for the first time in 50 years.

The hearing will be held on May 17 at 9 AM Eastern time followed by a classified hearing on the Pentagon program which investigates airborne objects.

This all comes after a preliminary assessment by U.S. intelligence revealed 144 reports of “unidentified aerial phenomena’ since 2004 only one of which has been explained.

But the report did stress that these sightings are not necessarily extraterrestrial and could have a variety of explanations.

The hearing will be chaired by Indiana Representative Andre Carson he says “Americans need to know more about these unexplained occurrences” and the “national security risk it poses”.

The Deputy director of naval intelligence as well as the under secretary of defence for intelligence and security will testify in front of the House Committee.

Some of those in government say the hearing is a great opportunity for the U.S. to be more transparent with its citizens and stop the secrecy normally associated with such activity.

This will mark the first time Congress has held a public hearing on the issue since the Air Force was involved in a UFO investigation in the 1970s.