Museum Turns To Kickstarter To Fund Preservation of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 Spacesuit

Lisa Young works on Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit in the Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory.

A US museum has turned to crowdfunding to help maintain its collection, starting with Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C has started a Kickstarter project to fund the preservation of the spacesuit that Armstrong was wearing when he became the first man to walk on the moon 46 years ago today.

With a funding target of $500,000, the #RebootTheSuit project involves the long-term preservation of the suit as well as creating a digital record of it using high-tech techniques such as 3D scanning, photogrammetry, chemical analysis and CT scanning.

Backers can pay as little as $1 with pledges going all the way up to $10,000.

Those who pledge money will receive rewards ranging from a Neil Armstrong mission patch to a 3D print of his glove.

Backers paying the top price will get a behind-the-scenes visit to see the suit.

“Through Kickstarter, we are reaching global audiences with the ability to make amazing projects come to life,” said Yoonhyung Lee, director of digital philanthropy at the Smithsonian.

“The public will have the chance to directly contribute to specific Smithsonian projects and follow the creative process from fundraising through completion, regardless of their level of support.”

Some of the Smithsonian project team with Armstrong’s suit.

The suit will be on temporary display at the museum for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 2019. It will then form part of a permanent display opening in 2020.

Smithsonian museums are free to visit and are partially financed by federal funds, but new exhibitions and long-term projects are usually funded using private donations.

The Smithsonian museum group is due to launch a range of Kickstarter-funded projects throughout the rest of the year.

(Image credit: Smithsonian)