That could be true also. That would explain why the astronauts looked so sheepish in their interviews. First ever people to interact with alien life! Or maybe they weren't told about the true nature of their mission till they got there.
I do think all the Apollo missions were real, as well as SkyLab, etc - I really don't think they could have faked that until just a few years ago. But what you're saying about the alien base makes perfect sense.