92-year-old former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the surface of the Moon after Neil Armstrong, is auctioning off many personal items and historical artifacts from his glorious career. Among the items valuable to collectors, the jacket he wore during the Moon landing attracts special attention.
The Beta Cloth jacket is made of fireproof material and is decorated with Aldrin’s name and the NASA logo. This is the only space jacket that will soon be able to be in a private collection. According to the organizer of Sotheby’s sales, such a valuable lot from the Moon is valued very highly, since it is the only item of outerwear of the Apollo 11 mission that will be put up for sale. It is expected that bets on Aldrin’s jacket will be able to rise to USD 2 million. The clothes of Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins are kept at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Among the other items for sale will be the notorious automatic switch of the lunar module Eagle. It is known for suddenly failing, which put the mission in jeopardy — Armstrong and Aldrin could stay on the Moon forever. Fortunately, Armstrong improvised and used a regular felt-tip pen as an engine igniter, which returned Eagle to the Columbia orbital command module. By the way, this “rescue” marker will also be put up for sale.
Another notable lot from the Apollo 11 mission is a system activation checklist containing flight schematics and data that Aldrin was supposed to leave on the Moon. According to Sotheby’s estimates, the manuscript will be sold for 150 – 250 thousand dollars.
“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. I hope that this collection offers some insight into what it has been like to be Buzz Aldrin,” the former astronaut said.
Sotheby’s commented on all these items as “some of the most significant and valuable space exploration artifacts ever offered at auction.” The sale, which Sotheby’s called “Buzz Aldrin: American Icon,” will take place on July 26 – less than a week after the 53rd anniversary of the moon landing.
Earlier, the iconic photos of Armstrong and Aldrin from Apollo 11 were 100 % sold.
According to CNN
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