Flying Saucer Emoji
U+1F6F8:flying_saucer:About Flying Saucer 🛸
Flying Saucer () is part of the Travel & Places group in Unicode. Added in Unicode E5.0. Type on GitHub and Slack to use it. Click copy above to grab it, paste it anywhere.
Works in iMessage, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Instagram, Twitter, Gmail, and every app that supports Unicode.
Often associated with aliens, extra, flying, and 3 more keywords.
Scroll down for the full story: meaning, trends, combos, and more.
How it looks
What does it mean?
A classic flying saucer with a dome on top and lights around its rim — the stereotypical UFO from 1950s science fiction. 🛸 represents UFOs, aliens, extraterrestrial life, sci-fi culture, and the enduring human fascination with whether we're alone in the universe.
🛸 carries the energy of "I want to believe." It's the emoji of X-Files fans, conspiracy theorists, alien enthusiasts, and anyone who's ever looked up at the night sky and wondered. The design references the classic "flying saucer" shape that entered popular culture after Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting and became cemented through decades of sci-fi films.
The emoji got a massive visibility boost from the 2019 Storm Area 51 event, a viral Facebook joke that proposed raiding the classified military base to "see them aliens." Over 2 million people RSVP'd. The meme dominated the internet for weeks and made 🛸 one of the summer's most-used emojis. More recently, the 2023 UAP congressional hearings and government transparency initiatives brought renewed serious attention to UFO culture. Added in Unicode 10.0 (2017).
🛸 lives at the intersection of humor and genuine curiosity on social media. The meme usage dominates: "Aliens watching us [do something stupid] 🛸" is a format that generates endless variations. The Area 51 raid meme of 2019 produced weeks of alien content, with users sharing plans for how they'd befriend extraterrestrials, drawings of aliens in everyday situations, and edits of the classic alien emoji 👽.
But there's also a growing serious lane. After the July 2023 congressional UAP hearings, where retired military personnel testified about unidentified anomalous phenomena, UFO content shifted from pure comedy to genuine discussion. 🛸 now appears in news commentary, podcast discussions, and Twitter threads about government transparency on UAPs. In 2025, President Trump directed agencies to release files on UAPs and extraterrestrial life, adding fuel to the discourse.
🛸 also works as a personal metaphor: "I don't belong here 🛸" expresses feeling alien or out of place. It's the emoji of not fitting in, being from a different planet, or having ideas so far ahead they feel extraterrestrial.
A UFO / flying saucer. Represents aliens, sci-fi, Area 51, extraterrestrial themes, and the UAP/UFO discourse. Also used metaphorically for feeling out of place or otherworldly.
The Flying Vehicles Family
What it means from...
Among friends, 🛸 is usually alien memes and conspiracy jokes. 'Aliens watching us destroy the planet 🛸' or 'Coming from another planet where I got 8 hours of sleep 🛸.' It's lighthearted sci-fi humor and Area 51 references.
From a crush, 🛸 carries 'you're out of this world' energy. It can mean you feel otherworldly to them, or it's being used playfully: 'You must be an alien because you're not from around here 🛸.' Corny, but endearing.
From a stranger on social media, 🛸 usually appears in UFO/alien content, conspiracy threads, or reactions to news about government UAP disclosures. It's a community signal: people who use 🛸 regularly tend to be genuinely interested in alien culture or actively participating in the meme.
Emoji combos
Often confused with
👽 is the alien itself — the gray-skinned, big-eyed extraterrestrial. 🛸 is the vehicle — the flying saucer. They're often paired together (🛸👽) but serve different roles: 🛸 is about the sighting, 👽 is about the being.
👽 is the alien itself — the gray-skinned, big-eyed extraterrestrial. 🛸 is the vehicle — the flying saucer. They're often paired together (🛸👽) but serve different roles: 🛸 is about the sighting, 👽 is about the being.
🚀 is human spaceflight — rockets, launches, ambition, and 'to the moon' energy. 🛸 is alien spaceflight — UFOs, mystery, and the unknown. 🚀 is outbound (us going to space), 🛸 is inbound (them coming to us).
🚀 is human spaceflight — rockets, launches, ambition, and 'to the moon' energy. 🛸 is alien spaceflight — UFOs, mystery, and the unknown. 🚀 is outbound (us going to space), 🛸 is inbound (them coming to us).
🛸 is the vehicle (flying saucer), 👽 is the being (alien). They're often paired together but serve different roles: 🛸 is about the sighting, 👽 is about the extraterrestrial itself.
Caption ideas
Fun facts
- •The Storm Area 51 Facebook event in 2019 gathered over 2 million RSVPs to 'see them aliens.' The creator said it was a joke. About 150 people showed up. The meme generated weeks of alien content across every social platform.
- •The 'flying saucer' shape entered popular culture after pilot Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting over Mount Rainier. A journalist misquoted him as describing 'flying saucers,' and the term stuck permanently. Arnold actually described their movement, not shape.
- •In July 2023, retired military personnel testified before Congress about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), claiming the government possesses materials of non-human origin. The hearing generated millions of social media reactions.
- •The X-Files (1993-2018) popularized the phrase 'I want to believe' and made alien/UFO culture mainstream entertainment. The show's iconic poster with a UFO is one of the most recognizable images in sci-fi history.
Trivia
Related Emojis
More Travel & Places
Share this emoji
2,000+ emojis deeply researched. One click to copy. No ads.
Open eeemoji →