Neil Armstrong’s lunar gear fetches $US7.5 million
Apollo 11 trio Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin in 1969. Photo: Getty
Memorabilia that belonged to the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong, has been sold for more than $US7.4 million ($10.3 million) at auction.
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions says the item that sold for the highest price, $US468,500, at Saturday’s auction was Armstrong’s spacecraft ID plate from Apollo 11‘s lunar module Eagle.
The lunar module was immortalised in the words “The Eagle has landed” as it touched down on the surface of the Moon.
The space suit Neil Armstrong wore during his outing on the lunar surface. Photo: AFP/Getty
Also sold were a fragment from the propeller and a section of the wing from the Wright brothers’ Flyer, the first heavier-than-air self-powered aircraft, which each sold for $US275,000.
The flight suit Armstrong wore aboard Gemini 8, the 1966 mission that performed the first docking of two spacecraft in flight, brought the astronaut’s family $US109,375.
Meanwhile, in a separate auction, a gold-coloured Navy aviator’s helmet once owned by John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, sold for $US46,250.