National Geographic and Bob Ballard , the underwater explorer who found the Titanic in 1985, have set out to solve the mystery that flies around Amelia Earhart's disappearance. The result of his first expedition, consisting of two ships, more than 70 people, tracking dogs, drones and land and underwater robots, can be seen on Sunday at 10 pm at Amelia Earthart Expedition , a two-hour documentary that reviews both the The exciting life of this pioneer of aviation as the efforts of this group of scientists, technicians and experts to recover their remains.

The name Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) is synonymous with adventure, courage and mystery. The famous American aviator not only managed to live from her profession in a world dominated by men , but also broke several brands such as the woman who flew at the highest altitude, the first to cross the Atlantic, the one that reached the highest speed or the first person who flew alone between Honolulu and Oakland.

On July 2, 1937 he finished his story, but not his legend. At 39, she disappeared in the Pacific Ocean trying to become the first woman to fly around the world with Fred Noonan air navigator. It happened in the second to last stage of his trip: the route from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island, where he planned to refuel to continue towards Hawaii.

Ballard gathered a group of scientists, technicians and experts in Earhart for the month-long trip that left Samoa in the direction of a remote Pacific atoll called Nikumaroro, in the Republic of Kiribati, on August 7. The marine search has been carried out aboard the E / V Nautilus and has been conducted by Allison Fundis .

"His radio signal was missing and the last word he said was waiting. So the question is, did it crash near Howland Island and submerged 5,000 meters or went to another island that he knew was south, Gardner Island, today? known as Nikumaroro, and managed to land? ", explains Ballard to THE WORLD.

"We started looking on the island of Gardner because there is more evidence that he landed there," he says about the radio signals that, they believe, Earhart broadcast from the area in the three days after his disappearance and several objects found: a train landing, bones and artifacts that could belong to the aviator.

"We carry two ships, multiple vehicles, drones, a ground crew and another of submariners," says Allison Fundis, leader of this expedition by land, sea and air that combed the island for three weeks. "The logistics of all this is like a ballet, so you have to make sure everything is coordinated and that time is used efficiently. We planned this expedition a year before to make sure we had what was necessary for any possible scenario," Add.

"The documentary shows how we explore this area and how we will use technology in the next round. Because this is the first episode," confesses Ballard about this effort whose next stop will take place at the other possible whereabouts of Earhart or his plane. "We are developing the technology to go because Howland Island is surrounded by waters at 6,000 meters and we did not have the capacity to work at that depth, " says Ballard.

Both recognize that this adventure is long, but they do not despair. "I am 77 years old. This year I am celebrating my 60th anniversary going out to sea. I have participated in 150 expeditions. So this is what I do. I am a scientist, an explorer, and sometimes it takes me years, others, it takes me decades," he says. Ballard "Amelia is one of the most difficult missions I have assumed, but I am excited precisely for that. It will take time , but we want you to join us on this trip because we are going back," he continues.

"Our job for the next 10 years will be to investigate this area and follow every clue we have. It took me two attempts to find the Titanic , it took me two attempts to find the Bismarck , so our job is to discard all the options until we solve the mystery." , explains the explorer. " The deep sea is a giant refrigerator , the temperature is 4 degrees Celsius, so it turns everything into frozen history. If Amelia's plane landed on Howland Island it will be parked down there. The question is whether she and Fred Noonan will be there or not ", sentence.

Amelia Earhart's legacy reaches to this day. On the influence he had both in his generation and in subsequent ones, Ballard concludes: "The majority of our team are women in positions of leadership and authority . So this expedition is also a celebration of who Amelia was and why her story continues being so captivating and current today. "

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

    Tricks Alert for a WhatsApp bug: update or your phone could be hijacked

    Body Simple stretches to prevent back pain

    PlatformsMovistar + changes its content strategy: more money for non-fiction series