The jacket worn by astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin on his historic first mission to the moon’s surface in 1969 has been auctioned for nearly $US2.8 million ($4 million).

The $US2,772,500 paid for the Apollo 11 Inflight Coverall Jacket is the highest for any American space-flown artefact sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s, which handled the sale.

The unidentified buyer, who participated by phone, outlasted several others in bidding that spanned almost 10 minutes.

The jacket displays Aldrin’s name tag on the left breast above the Apollo 11 mission emblem, and the American flag on the left shoulder.

It is made of a fire-resistant material known as Beta cloth that was incorporated in spacesuits in response to the fire that killed three astronauts aboard Apollo 1 in 1967, according to Sotheby’s.

Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first astronauts to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.