• Nearly one-third of respondents believe alien contact will happen in their lifetimes 
• Only 56% of people surveyed in 2017 believed that aliens exist compared to 66% today
• The results  'reflect the newfound respectability' of the subject, one expert told MailOnline.com
• In April 2020, the U.S. Pentagon declassified three videos of 'unexplained aerial phenomena'  

Nearly two-thirds of all Americans now believe that extraterrestrial life exists and that the U.S. government isn't telling the public the full truth, according to a newly published CBS News survey.

The findings of the poll are a sharp increase from the last time the news outlet asked the same question in 2017.

At that time, just 56 percent of respondents believed there was intelligent life on other planets compared to 66 percent who believe today.

In 2010, less than half of respondents thought extraterrestrial life existed, showcasing how popular sentiment on the once taboo topic has changed drastically in recent years.

CBS surveyed 1,009 adults via telephone across the country between March 23 and 28.

'I'm pleased at these new poll results, but not surprised,' Nick Pope, a former employee and UFO investigator for Britain's Ministry of Defense, told MailOnline.com via email. 

'They reflect the newfound respectability that the UFO subject is enjoying. The topic has come out of the fringe and into the mainstream, due to a stunning series of revelations in the last three years.'