See Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit all fixed up
The National Air and Space Museum is prepping to put the famous spacesuit back on display for the first time in over a decade.
Neil Armstrong wore this spacesuit on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969.
NASA's epic Apollo 11 mission to land humans on the moon launched on July 16, 1969. In preparation for the 50th anniversary celebrations, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, went to work to conserve and preserve Neil Armstrong's iconic Apollo 11 spacesuit. And it looks great.
The museum unveiled the post-conservation spacesuit on Twitter on Wednesday. It will go back on display on July 16 for the first time in 13 years.
Our conservation of Neil Armstrong's #Apollo11 spacesuit is complete, and we are excited to finally release brand new photography of the suit. It will go back on display for the first time in over a decade on July 16, the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. #Apollo50 pic.twitter.com/2uRQzWbmbX
— National Air and Space Museum (@airandspace) May 1, 2019
The journey to protect the moon-worn spacesuit dates back years. The Smithsonian launched a Kickstarter project in 2015 to raise the funds necessary for the work.
Click here for To The Moon, a CNET multipart series examining our relationship with the moon from the first landing of Apollo 11 to future human settlement on its surface.
The campaign pulled in over $700,000 (£530,000, AU$990,000) to pay for stabilizing the fragile suit, which required delicate fabric repair, stain removal, cleaning and preservation of fading materials and degraded plastic parts.
The crowdfunding money also helped pay for a mannequin to wear the suit and a state-of-the-art climate-controlled display case.
The suit will go on temporary display near the 1903 Wright Flyer before being moved to a permanent home in 2022 for a exhibition called Destination Moon.
Armstrong's suit kept him safe when he stepped foot on the moon. All these decades later, the Smithsonian was able to repay the favor and protect the spacesuit for posterity back here on Earth.
