The Spacesuit From Neil Armstrong’s Historic Moonwalk Is Crumbling, And Only You Can Save It

On July 20, 1969 — 46 years ago Monday — Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. But the suit he wore during that historic mission is falling apart, and only crowdfunding can save it.

The federal money received by the National Air and Space Museum won’t cover an expensive effort to restore and preserve Armstrong’s spacesuit for public display. So the Smithsonian Institution is starting something very exciting on the 46th anniversary of the moonwalk, the Washington Post reported.

They’re turning to Kickstarter to help fund its restoration, the first of many projects it plans to fund in this way.

“We want to preserve Armstrong’s spacesuit – and the story it tells of its incredible journey – down to the particles of lunar dust that cling to its surface.”

Public got 1st good look at #Apollo11 spacesuit when astronauts were on way to launch pad (Img @NASA) #RebootTheSuit pic.twitter.com/8xk63OLaZp

— National Air and Space Museum (@airandspace) July 20, 2015

That description is enough to give you goosebumps, as are the incredible plans the Smithsonian has for Neil’s spacesuit, a vital article of clothing for space travel, but an ironically fragile artifact not originally intended to spend “hundreds of years in a museum,” according to the project’s profile.

The playfully-named #RebootTheSuit campaign has been in the works for about five years. Armstrong’s spacesuit needs a special case and climate system so it can be stored in an exhibit, the Washington Post reported. That exhibit is planned for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo mission in 2019, with a new gallery, “Destination Moon,” to follow in 2020.

Armstrong’s suit has been out of the public eye since 2006, the Associated Press added.

Like most Kickstarter projects, the Smithsonian needs every penny of the $500,000 it needs to conserve Neil’s historic suit in order to go forward with the project, and it has only 30 days to do it. If they don’t get enough donations, backers aren’t charged.

The #RebootTheSuit project has many moving parts. First is conservation, which won’t change Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit or make it look like new, but will document its details, stop the deterioration process, and protect it forever.

It will also get a 3D scan, chemical analysis, CT scan, and undergo a high-tech photo shoot to “create a detailed map” of the artifact. The 3D scan is the coolest part of the project, because it’ll give everyone unprecedented access to Neil Armstrong’s historic moonwalk, allowing people to take a self-guided tour of the suit’s details and explore each of its 21 layers, according to Kickstarter.

Even better, the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia will also undergo a 3D scan.

If the Smithsonian can’t raise the $500,000 it needs to restore Neil Armstrong’s suit, it’ll still be protected at the institution and not allowed to simply wither away. But what’s the point of having such an artifact if the public can’t enjoy it?

The end game for #RebootTheSuit is permanent exhibition in 2019 and a centerpiece in the “Destination Moon” exhibition, which will update the human story of lunar exploration for a new generation of wide-eyed youth.

Beyond the centerpiece — Neil’s spacesuit — the exhibition will include a mural by space artist Chesley Bonestell, Alan Shepard’s Freedom 7 Mercury capsule, Gemini 7 spacecraft, F-1 rocket engine, Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, and parts of the Apollo Mission Simulator.

But “Destination Moon” wouldn’t be complete without the famous suit and its coating of lunar dust. So to inspire donations, Smithsonian has offered some rewards, including a 3D print of Neil’s glove and a behind-the-scenes experience at the Air and Space museum.

Forty-six years after the moon landing, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin‘s feat is still hard to imagine. With the backing of 400,000 engineers, techs, and scientists — not to mention a hefty $100 billion — the duo hopped across the moon’s surface, took pictures, and left an American flag and a plaque that marked humanity’s first lunar trek, Politico reported.

We last walked the moon in 1972 — with Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission — and sadly, haven’t been back since. But we have trekked to the farthest reaches of space to explore our most distant planet, Pluto, as the Inquisitr previously reported.

[Photos Courtesy Twitter, NASA via Getty Images]