The museum launched the campaign on Monday, July 20, which is the 46th anniversary of Armstrong’s feat.
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To preserve a piece of space history, the National Air and Space Museum launched a Kickstarter campaign, aiming to raise $500,000 within 30 days.
The Smithsonian is launching a crowdfunding campaign to conserve the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore on the moon.
Yoonhyung Lee, director of digital media philanthropy for the Smithsonian, said in an interview with CNN that there was a lot of excitement around using Kickstarter to fundraise for special projects. “Bringing Armstrong’s spacesuit back again not only assists honor the accomplishments of a technology who introduced us from Earth to the Moon in significantly less than 9 a long time, it also conjures up the upcoming generation of daring place explorers”.
Due to its deteriorating condition, the Apollo 11 suits has been stored away from display since 2006. While they were made to take astronauts to the moon and back safely, they weren’t built to last hundreds of years in the museum. July 2019 will be the 50th anniversary.
As part of the restoration project, the suit will be cleaned and chemically analyzed so that it can be treated to prevent any further degradation of its materials. It will be placed in a permanent exhibit the following year.
A 3D scan will allow the public to take a “self-guided tour, ‘exploring the functions of each of the suit’s 21 layers”. The Kickstarter campaign began today, so you have until mid-August to pledge your support for the project.
It says it receives federal monies, but those are designated for its operating budget and things like building maintenance.
“This is a way to reach a new audience”, says Smithsonian spokeswoman Alison Mitchell.
“During this pilot year, the focus will be on artifacts, exhibitions, and projects that need funding, giving the public a variety of opportunities to support the Smithsonian based on their own interests”, the institute said in announcing the campaign. Cathleen Lewis, curator at the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian, said, “This is the crown jewel of our collection”. The crew hopes to not only fully restore the suit itself, but to digitize its image.
Kickstarter has revealed its first partnership with the Smithsonian Instutution, a group of research centers and museums operated by the USA government, that will see the cultural body crowdfund new exhibits.
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Backers can get rewards that vary by the level donated.
