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Researchers are looking for answers and embarking on a special expedition following the 88th anniversary of the disappearance of American aviator Amelia Earhart.
The Perdue Research Foundation (PRF, based in Indiana) and Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI, based in Oregon) announced on Wednesday the “Taraia Object Expedition” project.
Researchers will head to the remote island of Nikumaroro, which is halfway between Australia and Hawaii, according to a joint press release from the two agencies.
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While on the island, researchers will determine whether the “Taraia Object,” a visual anomaly captured by a satellite, is actually the remains of Earhart’s plane.
Earhart is widely known as an aviation trailblazer, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the U.S. nonstop on Aug. 24, 1932.
She once worked at Perdue University in Indiana, serving as a career counselor for women and advising the aeronautical engineering department while living in the women’s residence hall.
In an announcement of the new expedition, Purdue President Mung Chiang shared that “the Boilermaker spirit of exploration lives on.”
“About nine decades ago, Amelia Earhart was recruited to Purdue, and the university president later worked with her to prepare an aircraft for her historic flight around the world,” said Chiang.
Richard Pettigrew, ALI executive director, said in the release, “What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case.”
“With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof,” he added.
Earhart flew “The Electra,” which disappeared on July 2, 1937.
“Both Earhart and her husband and manager, George Putnam, expressed their intention to return the Electra to Purdue after her historic flight,” said Steven Schultz, senior vice president and general counsel at Purdue.
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Researchers hypothesize that Earhart did not crash at sea, but instead landed and was stranded on Nikumaroro Island, later perishing there.
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