The Smithsonian's Kickstarter campaign to restore the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore when he became the first man to set foot on the moon has raised over $700,000.
The campaign has exceeded the $500,000 goal and hit a stretch goal of restoring another suit — Alan Shepherd's, who was the first American in space.
While neither suit was meant to last much longer after the missions, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington hopes to have the two suits ready for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.
This handout photo provided by the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution shows the spacesuit worn by astronaut Neil Armstrong, Commander of the Apollo 11 mission, which landed the first man on the moon on July 20, 1969. The National Air and Space Museum is launching a crowdfunding campaign to conserve the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore on the moon. The campaign begins Monday, marking 46 years since Armstrong’s moonwalk in 1969. Conservators say spacesuits were built for short-term use with materials that break down over time. The museum aims to raise $500,000 on Kickstarter to conserve the spacesuit, build a climate-controlled display case and digitize the spacesuit with 3D scanning. (Eric Long/National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution via AP)
