Explorer Bob Ballard sets out to solve Amelia Earhart mystery
Bob Ballard and Allison Fundis speak onstage during the TCA panel for National Geographic Channels' Bob Ballard's Next Great Discovery at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 23, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California. (CNN) - Deep-sea explorer Bob Ballard, who in 1985 made headlines for his discovery of the remains of the Titanic, has announced plans to solve another of history's greatest mysteries: What happened to missing-in-action aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. Setting sail on Aug. 7, National Geographic explorer-at-large Ballard and National Geographic Society archeologist-in-residence Fredrik Hiebert will lead a team of Earhart experts, scientists and technicians on a month-long journey that will take them from Samoa to a remote Pacific atoll called Nikumaroro in the Republic of Kiribati. This project is jointly funded by National Geographic Partners and National Geographic Society. It will be part of a two-hour special titled "Expedition Amelia" that will premiere Oct. 20 on National Geographic.