It is the highest price of any US space artifact sold at auction, Sotheby’s said.
NEW YORK — Buzz Aldrin’s jacket worn on his history first mission on the surface of the moon in 1969 was auctioned off to one bidder for nearly $2.8 million.
The $2,772,500 paid for the Apollo 11 Inflight Coverall Jacket is the highest of any U.S. space artifact sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s, which handled the sale. The unidentified winning bidder, who entered by telephone, outlasted several others in an auction that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
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The jacket displays Aldrin’s name tag on the left chest above the Apollo 11 mission emblem and the American flag on the left shoulder. It’s made of a fire-resistant material known as Beta fabric that was incorporated into spacesuits in response to the fire that killed three astronauts aboard Apollo 1 in 1967, according to Sotheby’s.
Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first astronauts to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
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“Neil Armstrong’s full flight suit: Jacket, pants, and boots are Smithsonian. Mike Collins’ jacket, pants, and boots are Smithsonian. Buzz’s pants and boots are Smithsonian. And that means that this jacket is the only item of clothing worn on the Apollo 11 mission that can be privately owned,” said Cassandra Hatton, global head of science and popular culture at Sotheby’s.
Sotheby’s also offers a pen used by Aldrin to fix a broken circuit breaker during the Apollo 11 mission. The company’s pre-sale estimate is $1-2 million.
“By some kind of miracle, the diameter of the plastic nib (of the pen) was the same as the diameter of the switch, and it fit right into that hole and cocked the motor and saved their lives” , Hatton said.
