Astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 flight jacket fetches R47m at auction

New York - Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin's flight jacket, which he wore on the historic mission to the moon in 1969, was sold for about $2.8 million (R47m) in New York, auction house Sotheby's said.

The jacket front displays Nasa’s logo and the Apollo 11 mission emblem, which is slightly below Aldrin’s name tag.

It also has the US flag on its left shoulder and is made of Beta cloth, a fireproof cloth that was incorporated into Nasa space suits after three Apollo 1 astronauts died in a flash fire aboard their spacecraft during a ground test in 1967.

After the jacket, the second highest grossing item at Tuesday's auction was the summary flight plan of the Apollo 11 mission. It was sold for $819 000, exceeding estimates of $100 000 to $150 000.

Neil Armstrong and Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the moon. Aldrin, who is now 92, is the only surviving member of the mission's three-man crew. Michael Collins was the Command Module pilot. - Reuters

The Independent on Saturday