The jacket worn by astronaut Buzz Aldrin during the historic Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969 fetched a record-breaking amount at auction on July 26.
Buzz Aldrin’s white astronaut jacket displayed at the auction. (Image: BBC)
At the event held in New York by Sotheby’s, the white outer jacket used by astronaut Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission was sold to an anonymous bidder for an impressive $2,772,500, far exceeding the initial estimate of around $1 million, making it the most valuable piece of space memorabilia ever auctioned in the United States.
Aldrin wore this jacket for most of his 6-day journey and only removed it to don a pressure suit before stepping onto the Moon’s surface alongside Neil Armstrong.
After spending over 21 hours on the Moon, the two astronauts returned to the Apollo spacecraft and changed back into the outer jackets they described as “much more comfortable” before heading back to Earth.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin wore this jacket for most of the Apollo 11 mission. (Image: NASA)
Made from flame-resistant Beta cloth, this Teflon-coated white jacket is the only space suit from the Apollo 11 mission that is available for purchase, making it “extremely rare”, according to Cassandra Hatton, Global Head of Science and Popular Culture at Sotheby’s.
In addition to the astronaut jacket, documents related to the flight plans of the Apollo 11 mission and the Presidential Medal of Freedom that Aldrin received in 1969 also brought in significant amounts, selling for $819,000 and $277,200, respectively, at the auction on July 26.
