Aircraft
Earhart Expedition Targets Taraia Lagoon Object in 2025
Purdue and ALI partnership builds on Earhart legacy, will examine object in November
Purdue, ALI partnership to search for Earhart's Electra
© Purdue Research Foundation

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.