The official search, named the "Taraia Object Expedition," will begin on Nov. 5, when a field team visits the island Nikumaroro by sea.

On the 88th anniversary of Amelia Earhart's disappearance, Purdue University announced a joint expedition to locate the pioneer's long lost plane.

Then residing in Massachusetts, Earhart jumped at the opportunity to be the first woman to partake in a transatlantic flight. Although just a passenger on the 1928 adventure led by pilot Wilmer “Bill” Stultz, her subsequent book chronicling the experience catapulted her into the spotlight.