Will the mystery be solved at last ? Image Credit: Library of Congress

A new expedition has been launched to investigate a possible sighting of the plane sticking out of the sand.

More than 88 years after Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in her Lockheed Model 10 Electra, the question of what happened to her continues to remain one of the biggest unanswered mysteries of the modern age.

Despite numerous expeditions and several possible sightings of her plane’s wreckage, the exact location of the crash – as well as whether Earhart survived – remains unknown.

One prominent theory is that she may have actually managed to land the plane on Nikumaroro – a remote, isolated island around 1,000 miles from Fiji.

If so, she and her navigator Fred Noonan may have even survived there for a time awaiting rescue.

If that’s true, then there should be traces of them and the plane still on the island.

Now, a new US expedition has been launched to investigate the island based on a satellite photograph that shows what is thought to be Earhart’s plane sticking out of the sand.

“What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case,” said Richard Pettigrew of the Archaeological Legacy Institute.

“With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof.”

The possible location of Earhart’s plane on Nikumaroro is particularly tantalizing as it is near to her intended route and the sand was exposed by a cyclone back in 2015, meaning that it may never have been directly explored before.

The expedition team will take 6 days to reach the island by boat and will spend 5 days investigating the site for signs that Earhart was ever there.

“We believe we owe it to Amelia and her legacy at Purdue to fulfill her wishes, if possible, to bring the Electra back to Purdue,” Purdue University’s Steve Schultz told NBC News.