By: Ryan Guo

The jacket worn by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin during his Apollo 11 moon landing just sold at auction for over 2.7 million dollars. This jacket was sold in the Sotheby’s auction house in New York on July 26th.

This jacket also included the United States Flag, the symbol of NASA, and the name “E Aldrin” when Buzz Aldrin wore it to and back from the moon in 1969.

“The exceptionally rare garment was chased by multiple bidders for almost 10 minutes before selling to a bidder on the phone,” Sotheby staff said in a public statement.

Buzz Aldrin is currently 92 years old and the only remaining alive astronaut of the Apollo 11 mission, the successful mission that landed humans on the moon. Aldrin’s crew mate, Neil Armstrong, was the first person to ever go on the moon, while Aldrin was second. His other crew mate Michael Collins stayed in space in the command module.

“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 mementos of a life dedicated to science and exploration,” Aldrin said in a statement. “I wore this in-flight coverall jacket … in the command module Columbia, on our historic journey to the moon and back home again during the Apollo 11 mission.”

Aldrin spent most of the 6-day flight in the jacket, until he had to change into his space suit. After staying for about a day on the moon, Aldrin and Armstrong returned to the command module, and after changing back to their jackets, Aldrin said that they were “much more comfortable.”

Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62314303