John Matthews
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) America still loves its space program.
After being asked to contribute to a crowdfunding campaign to conserve the spacesuit worn by astronaut Neil Armstrong when he became the first man to walk on the moon, the public responded with nearly $720,000 in donations in a 30-day period. Some 9,500 donors contributed to the Kickstarter campaign.
The National Air and Space museum started with a goal of $500,000 dollars to save the suit, build a climate-controlled display case for it and to conduct a 3D digitized scan of the suit. Armstrong’s suit has not been seen in public since 2006 because it has begun to deteriorate.
With the extra money, the museum says it will now also be able to conserve the Mercury spacesuit worn by Alan Shepard when he became the first American to go to space in 1961.
Any additional funds will be used to fund a new “Destination Moon” gallery that will feature the spacesuits and other artifacts. It is scheduled to open in 2020.
The Kickstarter campaign may possibly have sparked another positive step. Several members of Congress have stepped forward to press for legislation to find better ways to preserve America’s historical artifacts than through crowdfunding.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: NASA)
