posted 02-28-2020 12:00 AM               

Smithsonian Open Access launches with space artifact 2D and 3D images

The Smithsonian has just relinquished its claim on hundreds, if not thousands of space exploration artifacts.

No, the National Air and Space Museum did not hold a yard sale. Despite its currently closed galleries as part of an extensive multi-year restoration, all of the physical spacecraft, spacesuits and flown-in-space objects that have been entrusted to the museum remain in the care of their curators and conservators.

Rather, the Smithsonian has launched Smithsonian Open Access, an initiative that removes the copyright restrictions from about 2.8 million of the institution's digital images, including photos of most of the NASA artifacts in the National Collection.