Newly discovered photos could help uncover Amelia Earhart mystery after 88 years as expedition launched

The mystery of Amelia Earhart, an aviator who was declared dead in 1937 after her plane went missing over the Pacific Ocean, could soon be cracked wide open thanks to newly discovered imagery.

Together with navigator Fred Noonan, Earhart was attempting to circumnavigate the globe at the time of her disappearance, leading to a 16-day search at the behest of the US Navy and Coast Guard.

Despite millions of dollars being spent on finding the two pilots, neither Earhart's nor Noonan's remains were ever found. The same applies to the wreckage.

However, the so-called 'Taraia Object', which first appeared in aerial photos of Nikumaroro Island a year after the pair's apparent crash, is now believed to be the key to the head-scratcher.

Amelia Earhart's lost plane could finally be discovered (Getty Images/Bettmann)

It took until 2020 for satellite images taken of Nikumaroro to bring the object - Earhart's Lockheed 10-E Electra aircraft, hopefully - to researchers' attention, who later discovered it was also visible in the photos from 1938.

Next month, the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) flies out to the South Pacific with Purdue University and Purdue Research Foundation to inspect the island's lagoon, where the plane might be located.

Researchers are going to investigate the area next month (heritagetac.org)

A crew of 15 will head to the island between Hawaii and Fiji on 4 November, for three weeks, to have a look at what they think could be the main body and tail of the Electra.

ALI executive director Dr Richard Pettigrew said in a statement: "Finding Amelia Earhart's aircraft would be the discovery of a lifetime.

"Other evidence already collected by The International Group of Historic Aircraft Recovery establishes an extremely persuasive, multifaceted case that the final destination for Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, was on Nikumaroro. Confirming the plane wreckage there would be the smoking-gun proof."

Work at the site will consist of videos and images prior to physical disturbance (heritagetac.org)

Steve Schultz, senior vice president at Purdue University, went on to comment: "A successful identification would be the first step toward fulfilling Amelia's original plan to return the Electra to West Lafayette after her historic flight.

"Additional work would still be needed to accomplish that objective, but we feel we own it to her legacy which remains so strong at Purdue, to try to find a way to bring it home."

Researchers are hopeful that the aviator's final resting place will be confirmed over 80 years since her disappearance (Getty Images/Bettmann)

Work at the site will consist of videos and images prior to physical disturbance, followed by remote sensing via magnetometers and sonar. The team will then expose the alleged object with a hydraulic dredge.

This comes as US President Donald Trump announced on social media that he'll declassify secret government files about the explorer's disappearance.

Interestingly, Earhart was at one time considering a career in chemistry.