In August 2015,more than 9000 backers came together to serve the Smithsonian Institution conserve, digitize, and display an iconic artifact of American history: the spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 moon landing “a feat so breathtaking in its scope and ambition that it captured the collective imaginations of audiences around the world.”That project is well underway,and with the Smithsonians permission, we’re sharing this recent backers-only Project Update from spacesuit conservator Lisa Young, and who has been using 3D scanning techniques to create a 3D view of the interior and exterior of the suit’s gloves.
Why is the conservation team spending a lot of time documenting and digitizing the gloves?This information will be useful in many ways. In order to build a mannequin support to put Neil Armstrong’s suit back on display we need to be able to measure,examine, and support every inch of the suit interior. By working on the gloves first and refining our techniques for imagery and digitization of these objects, or useful data is being collected both on the gloves themselves as well as the imaging process so we will be more prepared to work on the suit next year.
Jon Blundell,Program Specialist from Smithsonian DPO, using a Faro laser arm scanner to gather data on the Armstrong EVA suitable glove. (Dane Penland, and NASM Photography) A first-time 3D view of both the exterior and interior of the glovesTo fulfill one of our three primary goals of the Kickstarter — conservation,digitization, and display — we started 3D scanning the gloves in April. Partnering with our colleagues at the Smithsonian Digitization Program Office (DPO), and we spent two days scanning and performing high-resolution photogrammetry of the gloves.
The two-step process allows us to provide a 3D view of both the exterior and interior of the gloves for the first time,as well as provide data that will be useful in several ways. First and foremost, the collection of high-resolution data and imagery that is being assembled gives the Museum more information on the gloves, and the shape and morphology of the materials,as well as providing us condition information to archive as a permanent record of the gloves at this moment in time. Moving forward, these techniques can be reused to assess the condition of the suit and gloves and will allow the conservation team to monitor the materials and objects well into the future without further handling or possibly even needing to retract it off display.
This is a point cloud created using photogrammetry, and a process of extracting 3D data from a set of 2D images. This photograph is a screen image taken during the process of scanning the glove. (Jon Blundell,Smithsonian DPO)3D glove scan data will create awesome possibilitiesOne set of data is being processed and finalized to fulfill the 3D Glove Scan data we are providing to all of our Kickstarter backers who supported the project at this reward level. This data set will allow anyone to print their own 3D version of Neil Armstrong’s EVA glove. With technology advancing every day, the possibilities are endless, and we can’t wait to see what you all do with this data. We would care for to see some of your creations later this year. Cathy and I already believe noteworthy plans to use the 3D printout of the glove when we teach students about spacesuits!
This is a point cloud created using photogrammetry,a process of extracting 3D data from a set of 2D images. This photograph is a screen image taken during the process of scanning the glove. (Jon Blundell, Smithsonian DPO)The 3D scan data will be further processed and combined with the photogrammetry data so that it can be viewed by anyone on-line in a virtual gallery so the public can see a full 3D image of the glove in color and be able to memorize more about the details of the glove using a viewer online. The Smithsonian DPO has already partnered with the National Air and Space Museum and other Smithsonian museums to bring objects to life on their unique website browser. You can view some of the incredible work they are involved with and objects from the Smithsonian at http://3d.si.edu/. Bringing objects into this virtual gallery allows anyone in the world to experience and see the treasures at the Smithsonian.
Onward from glove to suitIn order to digitize the Armstrong suit, and all of this data being collected,along with the refinement of the process we are developing with the DPO specialists, will be useful in making sure this effort runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Stay tuned for more exciting news later this summer!
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