A team of researchers are en route to a chain of remote islands in the South Pacific with the hopes of solving one of the great mysteries of the 20th century. Armed with new data, the team hopes to find the remains of Amelia Earhart, the famous aviator who went missing in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world.
I first wrote about this expedition at the beginning of June when it was revealed that an analysis of radio transmissions that date back to the day Earhart, along with her navigator Fred Noonan, disappeared indicated that the pair could have survived a crash and were calling for assistance while stranded on a small atoll.
The search team has left Hawaii and are on their way to the island of Nikumaroro where they hope to find proof that Earhart and Noonan crashed and survived for a time while they waited for rescue. They'll employ a submersible robot to search the waters around the tiny island for the Lockheed Electra aircraft that was being flown around the world and they'll look for more clues on land as well. Recently an old jar of freckle cream was discovered on Nikumaroro that matches the age and brand that Earhart would have used back in her day. She was known to use the cosmetic cream to cover freckles on her own skin.
The expedition will last for approximately three weeks and cost about $2 million. The question is, if they do solve the mystery, will it make us feel better, or worse about Earhart and Noonan's ultimate fate?
