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Topic: Udvar-Hazy: Neil Armstrong's gloves and visor
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-06-2012 02:49 AM
collectSPACE Neil Armstrong's gloves and visor on rare display at SmithsonianThe gloves and visor that the late Neil Armstrong wore during his historic moonwalk are now on display for the first time in more than a decade. On Tuesday (Sept. 4), the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum retrieved Armstrong's spacesuit artifacts from its preservation facility and placed them on exhibit at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia. The visor and gloves will be on display for two weeks while the country continues to mourn the Aug. 25 death of the first man to step foot on the moon. "With the unfortunate, untimely death of Neil Armstrong, we thought we had to do something and there really is no benefit in preserving something if the public cannot see it forever," explained Cathleen Lewis, spacesuits curator at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. "We considered what we could do and the EV gloves and the EV visor were the most capable of being taken out of storage and put on display for a brief period of time with the minimal amount of damage," she told collectSPACE. |
Rick Mulheirn Member Posts: 4167 From: England Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 09-06-2012 03:31 AM
Awesome items that unfortunately serve as a reminder that Neil is no longer with us.As for the repairs to the gauntlet on the glove, if they had been carried out in flight I would imagine Buzz could shed some light on the mystery. |
crash Member Posts: 318 From: West Sussex, England Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 09-06-2012 06:53 AM
Pity it's only two weeks. I will miss the opportunity to see them by a week or so. Well worth the hassle of getting there. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-06-2012 09:07 AM
According to curator Cathy Lewis, they do hope to put the suit, gloves and helmet back on display in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing (and 2020 when the National Air and Space Museum opens its renovation to the Apollo To The Moon gallery). |
Tykeanaut Member Posts: 2212 From: Worcestershire, England, UK. Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 09-06-2012 11:23 AM
Yes, it is a pity they are not on display for a while longer. |
drscoop Member Posts: 54 From: Macclesfield, UK Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 11-24-2012 02:52 PM
Wonder if anyone can clarify something for me...Visiting the Smithsonian in 2005, in the Apollo gallery, both Armstrong and Aldrin's suits were on display, both with a legend saying these were the original suits worn on the moon. This was backed up by the guidebook at the time, and the National Air and Space Museum website. However, the Smithsonian now say the very same suits were removed from display for preservation in 2001... Something's obviously not right here. Does anyone happen to know which specific suits were on display on the Mall in Fall 2005 and whether these were indeed the originals? |
Rick Mulheirn Member Posts: 4167 From: England Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 11-24-2012 02:58 PM
I visited Smithsonian in 1995, and again in 2002.Both suits were on display on both occassions but the displays and placement of the suits had changed. I think it a reasonable supposition that the suits had been removed for preservation in 2001 and this accounted for the difference in the appearance of the displays. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-24-2012 02:58 PM
Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 spacesuit has remained on display in "Apollo to the Moon," while Armstrong's was placed into storage for preservation. The "Apollo to the Moon" gallery also displays Gene Cernan's Apollo 17 spacesuit. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-24-2012 03:21 PM
quote: Originally posted by Rick Mulheirn: ...this accounted for the difference in the appearance of the displays.
On further review, this 2005 article clarifies: The Buzz Aldrin suit was removed one week later [March 2005]. After restoration, estimated to take a couple of weeks, Young will place the suit on a new mannequin, and then back in Apollo to the Moon. One aspect of the display will be changed, however. "The helmet and gloves will be placed on stands next to the suits," Young explained. "This will allow more air to circulate through the suits, which will be better for them in the long term." The Armstrong and Cernan suits are next on Young's list. While Cernan's spacesuit was returned to display, the decision was made to keep Armstrong's suit in storage from that point forward... |
drscoop Member Posts: 54 From: Macclesfield, UK Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 11-27-2012 05:09 PM
This is all very intriguing...The 2005 article clarifies a few things, but I still have some unanswered questions around the timings etc. of the removal of Armstrong's suit. So, according to my images and their timestamps I visited the National Air and Space Museum on the 2 September 2005, in the morning. Columbia was devoid of a spacesuit, so this was after Mike Collin's suit had been removed and I do not have any images of Aldrin's suit, which I thought was there, but I wonder if it was still away for renovation. This would be much longer after the May removal than the anticipated "couple of weeks" but I'm sure I'd have grabbed a photo if it were there. The display had also been changed from that in the guidebook (dated 2002) where both suits were present, as the flag was now behind the suit(s) and so did not reflect in the helmet visors any longer. However, the suit was still complete with gloves and helmet, rather than these being on adjacent stands as mentioned in the article regarding the return of Aldrin's suit. Photos of the suit from my 2005 trip are here and here for reference, if it's helpful. (Excuse the quality; remember this was a 2005 point and shoot!) On close examination, this suit appears authentic, as even the patterns of discoloration/wear on the utility pocket of the upper left leg match with the museum's stock image here. Even the small tufts of frayed thread just above the RH gauntlet match those in the stock image (around what I understand is the cover for the suit pressure gauge?). The legend in the case stated the suit was the original flight article, but this is somewhat at odds with the accounts here and elsewhere on the web, as the suit should have been long gone by then. I'm postulating whether the restoration of Aldrin's suit took longer than anticipated and I happened to pass through in the period between Aldrin's suit being returned and Armstrong's suit being removed. Can anyone offer any clarification or conformation of my hypothesis? |
golddog Member Posts: 210 From: australia Registered: Feb 2008
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posted 11-27-2012 08:56 PM
I visited the National Air and Space Museum in November 2005. I took photos of the suit on display, and when I enlarged them on the computer the name plate stated Armstrong. I have checked my photos against yours, and it is the same suit, discolorations and fraying. At the time, I thought it looked pretty authentic, but I am not an expert. I hope it was, as I would like to think I've seen the real thing. |
drscoop Member Posts: 54 From: Macclesfield, UK Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 12-05-2012 05:18 PM
Well, straight from the National Air and Space Museum, I have a clarification on on the timing of the removal of the Apollo 11 suits. As Amanda Young, curator of suits at the time, retired in 2009, I contacted Cathleen Lewis, the present curator, who was incredibly helpful. Cathleen notes: Michael Collins's A7L Apollo 11 suit was removed from inside the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia... That move took place in March 2005. About the same time, we removed Buzz Aldrin's spacesuit from display in the Apollo to the Moon gallery (gallery 210) for conservation work. It returned on display in that gallery in January 2006. I then asked "When was the Armstrong suit was removed from display? Am I correct in thinking this was not removed until January '06, upon return of the Aldrin suit?" to which Cathleen informed me: Yes, that is correct. The Neil Armstrong suit stayed on display until January 2006 when Buzz Aldrin's suit was returned from conservation work. Hope that clears everything up. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-12-2014 10:58 PM
In the 2012 article that began this topic, there is mention of "small gray marks" on the wrist of Armstrong's right glove. "That is one of those mysteries that I hope one day to be able to solve," [Cathleen Lewis, spacesuits curator at the National Air and Space Museum] shared, referring to small gray marks on the wrist of the gauntlet. "We know that the astronauts had a repair kit in the lunar module to repair punctures on the cover layer [of the spacesuit]. What we don't know is whether those repairs were made prior to the flight, during the flight or sometime after the flight when the suit was in NASA's possession.""I have not been able to find any record of it," Lewis said, "and unfortunately, it is too late to ask Mr. Armstrong." The Smithsonian Channel's "Planes, Cranes and Rockets" revisits this topic in "The Secret is in the Space Suit." When Neil Armstrong's space gloves began to develop mysterious spots on the cuff, Smithsonian specialists took a closer look, and what they found was surprising. |
dogcrew5369 Member Posts: 750 From: Statesville, NC Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 04-13-2014 08:52 PM
I would loved to have seen this display a month ago. Too bad. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-20-2016 09:37 AM
collectSPACE Smithsonian debuts Neil Armstrong gloves, helmet on displayThe Smithsonian is commemorating the anniversary of the first moon landing with new exhibits and a virtual display of some of the most historic artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission. Forty-seven years after astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, his lunar surface-worn gloves and helmet have been put back on display for the first time since 2012. Newly-conserved, they will be on view for one year, beginning on Wednesday (July 20), at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. |