Overview

• The Archaeological Legacy Institute leads a roughly 15-person team, with Purdue sending Sirisha Bandla, Marc Hagle and Steve Schultz under archaeologist Richard Pettigrew.
• The plan calls for departures from Purdue on Oct. 30, a rendezvous in Majuro, a Nov. 4 sea transit of about 1,200 nautical miles to Nikumaroro, and a return around Nov. 21.
• Fieldwork will document the site in photos and video, deploy magnetometers and sonar, then use a hydraulic dredge to expose the object, with shore surveys for possible debris.
• The “Taraia Object” was first seen in 2020 satellite imagery and appears in lagoon photographs dating to 1938 near the Taraia Peninsula on Nikumaroro.
• ALI describes the case as strongly suggestive but unconfirmed, while Purdue notes its long-standing ties to Earhart and says a positive identification could start the process of bringing the Electra home.