According to media reports, Sotheby’s Auction Center in the US has sold Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s jacket in New York for $ 2.8 million (about Rs 20 crore). This jacket was worn by Aldrin on the historic mission to the Moon in 1969. The jacket has the NASA logo and the Apollo 11 mission symbol on the front. It also has the name tag of Aldrin.
It also has the flag of the United States on its left shoulder and is made of beta fabric, a fireproof fabric. NASA has used this fabric in its space suits since the death of three Apollo 1 astronauts in a flash fire on their spacecraft during ground tests in 1967.
According to Sotheby’s, $2,772,500 (about Rs 22 crore) has been paid for the Apollo 11 inflight jacket, the highest for any American space-flight artifact sold at auction. The unidentified bidder had participated in the auction by phone and it outperformed many others in a bid that lasted about 10 minutes.
After the jacket, the second highest-grossing item at Tuesday’s auction was the Apollo 11 mission’s summary flight plan. It sold for $819,000 (approximately Rs 6.5 crore), which was much higher than the estimate of $100,000 (approximately Rs 79 lakh) to $150,000 (approximately Rs 1 crore).
Neil Armstrong and Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Aldrin, now 92, is the only surviving member of the mission’s three-man crew.