Heaven's Gate was an American UFO religious cult founded in the early 1970s by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The group was known for their belief in the existence of extraterrestrial spacecrafts and that they could transcend to a higher existence aboard these ships. Their teachings were a mix of Christian eschatology, New Age beliefs, and eclectic interpretations of various scriptures. In March 1997, the cult gained international notoriety when 39 members, including Applewhite, committed mass suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, California, believing they were evacuating Earth to join a spacecraft trailing the Hale-Bopp comet. The tragic event left a lasting impact on public perceptions of cult behavior and New Age spiritual movements.