NASA and the Smithsonian make their 3D printing files available to the public

A 3D model of the boots worn in the Broadway musical The Wiz are available for download. The Smithsonian

NASA and the Smithsonian Institution are giving the public free access to their treasure troves of 3D models that can be used to additively manufacture everything from a woolly mammoth to a space suit.

The downloadable files offered by NASA include space suits, helmets, gloves, and other protective gear; Moon landing sites; asteroids; the Apollo Lunar Module and Hubble Space Telescope; and the International Space Station.

The Smithsonian allows visitors to the Open Access website to download, share, and reuse millions of images and data from its 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, and archives, as well as the National Zoo.

Offerings range from prehistoric mammoths to life masks of Abraham Lincoln to boots worn by the Wizard in the Broadway musical The Wiz (circa 1977), allowing site visitors to download, print, and “ease on down the road” in style.

Accompanying article: Astronauts aboard the space station are studying ways 3D printing can help NASA extend space missions.

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