Earhart Expedition Targets Taraia Lagoon Object in 2025

The Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) will launch a joint expedition in November to investigate what may be the most promising lead yet in the long search for Amelia Earhart’s missing Lockheed Model 10-E Electra. Announced on the 88th anniversary of her disappearance, the mission will examine a visual anomaly known as the Taraia Object located in the lagoon of Nikumaroro, an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.

PRF’s involvement reflects Purdue University’s historic ties to Earhart, who served as a visiting faculty member and counselor for women in the 1930s. Through the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research, PRF financed the Lockheed Electra 10E she used in her round-the-world flight. The aircraft was to be donated to Purdue upon her return to support future research in aeronautics.

The expedition, the Taraia Object Expedition, is scheduled to depart from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on November 5. Organized by ALI, the field team will spend five days on Nikumaroro inspecting the submerged object and return to port on November 21. If the site inspection confirms the presence of aircraft wreckage, PRF and ALI plan to return in 2026 for a full recovery effort.

“What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case,” said ALI executive director Richard Pettigrew. “With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof.”

The hypothesis that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, landed and perished on Nikumaroro has gained traction over the decades. New analysis by ALI builds on earlier work by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, incorporating satellite imagery, photographs, archival data, and forensic evidence to strengthen the case for a crash landing on the island’s reef or lagoon. The Taraia Object, first identified in 2020, has remained in the same position since at least 1938.

Supporting evidence includes converging radio bearings collected by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and Pan Am; the Bevington Object, believed to show a landing gear strut in a 1937 photograph; and several artifacts recovered on Nikumaroro, including a woman’s shoe and freckle cream jar. A 2017 study also concluded that bones recovered in 1940 were more similar to Earhart’s measurements than 99% of individuals in comparative datasets.

“By embarking on this joint partnership with ALI, we hope to come full circle on our support of Earhart’s innovative spirit, solve one of history’s biggest mysteries, and inspire future generations,” said PRF president and CEO Chad Pittman.

Construction is also underway on the new 10,000-sq-ft Amelia Earhart Terminal at Purdue University Airport. Earhart and her husband, George Putnam, had intended to return the aircraft to Purdue after her historic journey. “Based on the evidence, we agree with ALI that this expedition offers the best chance not only to solve perhaps the greatest mystery of the 20th century, but also to fulfill Amelia’s wishes and bring the Electra home,” said Purdue University senior vice president and general counsel Steven Schultz.

Project updates will be posted on ALI’s Heritage Broadcasting Service as the expedition approaches.