On Tuesday, July 26, Buzz Aldrin's Moon jacket was auctioned as part of a sale of the astronaut’s personal memorabilia and historic NASA items from the Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 missions. The entire collection was sold by Sotheby’s New York for a total of $8.1m and was led by the $2.8m jacket worn by Buzz Aldrin on the 1969 moon landing, whose 53rd anniversary took place less than a week ago.
Related: The 6 Most Expensive Film Costumes Sold At Auction
The Inflight Coverall Jacket was manufactured in 1968 and features the historic Apollo 11 mission emblem, the NASA ‘meatball’ logo and the name tag reading ‘E. Aldrin’, as well as the United States flag on the left shoulder. The jacket was accompanied by a provenance letter signed by Buzz Aldrin himself, which reads: ‘On July 16th, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and I lifted off from Pad 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on our journey to perform humankind's manned lunar mission…I wore this Inflight Coverall Jacket on our historic journey to the Moon and back home again during the Apollo 11 mission.’
Want more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our free newsletter
All other garments from the mission, including the boots, trousers, and pressure suits are housed in the National Air & Space Museum Collections, making the jacket the only Apollo 11 garment up for private ownership. The lot went to an unidentified telephone bidder in under 10 minutes. Together with the other items, including a black felt-tip pen used by Mr Aldrin and the crew’s summary flight plan from launch to splashdown, the sale achieved a total of $8.1m, making it the most valuable single sale of space items ever auctioned.
In a press statement, Aldrin described the collection as the "summation" of his career, saying that "after deep consideration, the time felt right to share these items with the world, which for many are symbols of a historical moment, but for me have always remained personal mementoes of a life dedicated to science and exploration". He continued: “I hope that this collection offers some insight into what it has been like to be Buzz Aldrin."
Related: 8 Works of Art in Outer Space
Cassandra Hatton, global head of science and popular culture at Sotheby’s, commented: “Today’s result is a testament to the legendary career of Buzz Aldrin and his lifelong dedication to the exploration and understanding of the universe”, adding that it “proves the ongoing and everlasting significance of the Apollo 11 mission, some 53 years since man first walked on the moon.”
