The jacket was previously owned by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, who became the second person to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, after fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong. It is not the space suit that the 92-year-old wore when entering the moon. Rather, he wore the jacket in the command module “Columbia” during the flight from the earth to the moon and back again.
The jacket was auctioned along with 67 other items owned by Aldrin. Total proceeds were $8.2 million. An Apollo 11 flight plan has been auctioned for $819,000.
“After careful consideration, the time felt right to share these items with the world,” Aldrin said ahead of the auction. The objects are “for many symbols of a historical moment, but for me they have always been personal mementos of a life devoted to science and exploration.”
Aldrin is the last surviving of the three astronauts from the Apollo 11 mission: Neil Armstrong died in 2012, the third astronaut Michael Collins died in April last year.
