An underwater object believed to be Amelia Earhart’s aircraft might finally solve the mystery of her disappearance

90 years after Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, an expedition will head out to search for the wreckage of her lost aircraft around the island of Nikumaroro in the Pacific Ocean. Purdue University, Purdue Research Foundation, and the Archaeological Legacy Institute will send a team to investigate “a visual anomaly” identified on satellite imagery. The satellite image was taken in 2015, but the unidentified possible object wasn’t spotted until 2020 on Apple Maps.

Many theories exist about what happened to Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan. If the expedition does find wreckage from her plane, the world might finally have answers to one of the most puzzling mysteries of all time.  

Amelia Earhart’s flight around the world

In the 1930s, Earhart became known as an accomplished explorer, which included setting a record as the first woman to fly alone over the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other aviation records in her time, before deciding on the ambitious goal of circumnavigating the globe. In 1937, after video footage of her flight preparation was taken, she and Noonan set out on the 29,000-mile journey.

They completed around 22,000 miles before landing in New Guinea. From New Guinea, they set their sights on a tiny Pacific island called Howland Island. However, the duo and their plane disappeared on July 2, 1937. Despite the efforts of search teams, in the immediate aftermath and over the years, the plane and its occupants were never found.

However, one theory that has persisted for years suggests they couldn’t locate Howland Island and instead reached Nikumaroro. Since Nikumaroro was only about 400 miles from their intended destination, it’s possible the theory could be accurate. So far, though, despite investigations, no evidence has conclusively established that Earhart and Noonan landed on this island.

The investigation into the mysterious object is set for October 2026

The team of researchers and archaeologists set to investigate the visual anomaly in what is being called the Taraia Object Expedition is set to depart on October 7. Once there, they will examine a lagoon east of the Tatiman Passage, where the mystery object was first noticed in satellite images. Though the object was only first noticed in 2020, researchers went back and looked at other imagery and found that something in the same location could be seen on other satellite images, drone footage, and even aerial photos going all the way back to 1938.

The expedition plans to take video and photos of the area before beginning their work. After that, the team will start with remote sensing surveys before moving on to using sonar equipment and other underwater archaeological methods. If whatever is under the water proves to be part of Earhart’s plane, then a new expedition will need to be planned to document and potentially recover it. (It should be noted this isn’t the first time a group of explorers has believed they located Earhart’s plane.)

According to vt.co, the executive director in charge of the trip, Dr. Richard Pettigrew, said about the upcoming adventure, “I feel truly lucky to be in a position to possibly solve one of the greatest mysteries of all time, whether or not that happens.”

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