Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 jacket is up for auction, starting bid at $70K. What is its history?

Did you spend your childhood being fascinated by man’s first ever moon landing? Well, you may now have the chance to own a piece of that historic moment.

The second man to land on the moon, astronaut Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin is auctioning his Apollo 11 inflight coverall jacket which he wore on mission to the moon back in July 1969.

The auction will be held on July 26 as a part of Sotheby’s Buzz Aldrin: American icon collection. The collection will have many personal items from Aldrin’s life and career on auction.

As per Sotheby’s estimate, the jacket is expected to fetch US $1 million to US $2 million. Currently, the bid is at US $700,000 (Rs 5,59,49,600).

Some of the pieces in the collection come with their own NFTs. The jacket’s NFT will be minted by by MIRA to the ethereum blockchain

History of the jacket: Sotheby’s auction page says that while Aldrin and the first man to step on the moon, Neil Armstrong, wore pressure suits while descending on the moon’s surface, they wore the jackets on their way to the moon and while coming back. Which means that Aldrin’s auctioned jacket was worn by him for most of his journey to the lunar surface.

The jacket was part of a complete inflight coverall garment (ICG) that included the present jacket, trousers and a pair of boots custom made for each crew member.

Aldrin’s  jacket is the only ‘flown garment’ from Apollo 11 that is available for private ownership. All other flown garments are stores at the National Air & Space Museum Collections in US.

What is the jacket made of? The jacket was manufactured in the US on December 18, 1968 and is made of a teflon-coated, fire-resistant cloth known as Beta Cloth with snaps at wrists, waist, collar and front opening.

It also has a NASA ‘Meatball’ logo on the right chest, an Apollo 11 Mission Emblem on the left lapel, an American flag on the left shoulder and Aldrin’s name tag that reads ‘E.Aldrin’ on the front.

Aldrin says: In a press statement, Aldrin said: “This collection is a summation of my career as an astronaut, from my studies at West Point to my first EVA during Gemini XII, to humankind’s first lunar landing on Apollo 11 where we planted the American flag, and a bit beyond.”

“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,” he said.

Other items being auctioned in the collection are the broken circuit breaker switch that nearly ended the lives of the Apollo 11 crew along with the felt tip pen that saved them. Both are expected to sell for US $1 million-US $2 million, together at the auction.