The jacket worn by Buzz Aldrin on his historic mission to the moon has become the most valuable American space artefact ever sold at auction. But how much did it go for?
ADVERTISEMENTThe jacket worn by Buzz Aldrin on his historic mission to the moon's surface in 1969 has been auctioned off to a bidder for nearly $2.8 million (€2.73m).
The $2,772,500 price paid for the Apollo 11 Inflight Coverall Jacket is the highest for any American space-flown artefact sold at auction, according to Sotheby's, which handled the sale.
The anonymous winning bidder, who participated by phone, outlasted several others in a bidding that spanned almost 10 minutes.
The sale of the item also makes it the most expensive jacket ever sold at an auction.
An out-of-this-world sale
The jacket displays Aldrin’s name tag on the left breast above the Apollo 11 mission emblem, and the American flag on the left shoulder.
It is made of a fire-resistant material known as Beta cloth that was incorporated in spacesuits in response to the fire that killed three astronauts aboard Apollo 1 in 1967, according to Sotheby's.
"This jacket is the only garment worn on the Apollo 11 mission that can be owned privately," said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's Global Head of Science and Popular Culture, as all of the other items worn by Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins are on display at the Smithsonian museum in Washington.
Check out the video above for a closer look at Buzz Aldrin's jacket
