[imagesource: NASA]

After just 10 minutes up on auction with Sotheby’s, the in-flight coverall jacket that Buzz Aldrin wore when he stepped on the moon was sold to a phone bidder for a record-breaking price.

On Tuesday, the unidentified bidder paid a whopping $2 772 500 for the jacket that has been touched by space and the famous astronaut.

That’s around R46,5 million and makes it the most expensive jacket sold at auction, as well as the most valuable American artefact flown in space, according to Sotheby’s.

Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface after Neil Armstrong, with the duo becoming the first astronauts to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Image: NASA

That’s Aldrin busy on the Apollo 11 mission in the image right up top, too.

A warning to any tinfoil-hat-wearing moon-landing-deniers: don’t challenge the retired astronaut about his moon landing, or you might get a fist to the face.

CNN reports that the jacket exceeded expectations as it was initially thought to fetch $2 million in the auction:

The in-flight coverall jacket features the historic Apollo 11 mission emblem and “E. Aldrin” for his full first name, Edwin. It is made of a fireproof, tightly woven silica fiber called Beta Cloth used in the production of Apollo spaceflight suits.

Image: Sotheby’s via AP

…It is the only flown garment from the Apollo 11 mission in private hands — the jackets worn by fellow crew members Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins are both now housed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Image: Sotheby’s

The jacket was just one item sold from the trove of personal memorabilia and historic NASA items via Aldrin, which the 92-year-old astronaut said was the “summation” of his career as an astronaut:

“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,” the former astronaut said, adding: “I hope that this collection offers some insight into what it has been like to be Buzz Aldrin.”

The other items included flight plans from Apollo 11 (sold for $819 000) and a summary of the touchdown of the lunar module Eagle (sold for $327 600).

Per ABC, Sotheby’s global head of science and popular culture Cassandra Hatton said, “with no hesitation that it is the best space exploration sale to have ever happened, and there will not be another that will be better than this.”

[sources:cnn&abcnet]