It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for the Smithsonian.
Yes, the National Air and Space Museum in the Smithsonian have launched a Kickstarter to conserve, digitize, and display Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit for explorers around the world.
On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history as the first men to walk on the moon. The Smithsonian have started a Kickstarter
to add the original suits to their display at the museum.
It turns out the suits on display are only replicas, and they are actually kept in a separate facility, as time has taken a toll on the spacewear. However, the
Kickstarter
claims that they now have the technology to preserve it once and for all, to give audiences a true vision of what it was like for the first man on the moon.
They think it’s time to Reboot the Suit.
General John R. Dailey, of the National Air and Space Museum, said simply, “This is an epic endeavour.”
He continued,
“This suit represents one of the greatest achievements of the United States of America.”
The thought is to preserve the suit and display it to inspire future generations with the iconic imagery.
Alison Mitchell, public affairs specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum said:
“NASA made [spacesuits] basically for that one purpose, to get astronauts into space, to protect them while they’re there, and get them home. They didn’t think about materials that would last hundreds of years like we’re trying to do.”
The conservation process will take three to four years, and the specialists aim to stabilise deterioration to ensure the suit lasts for future space enthusiasts.
The suit will be a centre piece of Destination: Moon which opens in the year 2020, and they want to the suit to be displayed in the year 2019–the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.
The Kickstarter aims to reach $500,000 and there are 29 days left to donate.
Rewards range from a mission patch to a 3D-printed replica of Neil Armstrong’s glove and a range of private events for all you space enthusiasts.
So,
PopWrappers
, are you going to Reboot the Suit? Let us know.
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