The most expensive piece of space memorabilia ever sold at auction is Vostok 3KA-2, a Soviet test capsule that fetched $2,882,500 at Sotheby’s in New York in April 2011, on the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight. Close behind come Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 jacket at $2,772,500 (Sotheby’s, July 2022) and Neil Armstrong’s gold Omega Speedmaster at $2.125 million (RR Auction, April 2025). This list ranks the ten highest sale prices for space artifacts we could verify, as of October 2026, with buyer’s premium included where the auction house reports it.
Space memorabilia is a collector’s market with a hard ceiling. NASA keeps most flown Apollo hardware, so the sellable pieces are mainly gifts and personal items kept by astronauts, plus Soviet-era hardware.
| Rank | Item | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vostok 3KA-2 test capsule | $2,882,500 | April 2011 | Sotheby’s, New York |
| 2 | Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 flown jacket | $2,772,500 | 26 July 2022 | Sotheby’s, New York |
| 3 | Neil Armstrong’s 18k gold Omega Speedmaster | $2,125,000 | 17 April 2025 | RR Auction |
| 4 | Wally Schirra’s gold Omega Speedmaster | $1,907,000 | October 2022 | RR Auction |
| 5 | Flown Command Module rotational hand controller | $437,034 | 25 April 2024 | RR Auction |
| 6 | Buzz Aldrin’s flown lunar communion kit | $300,000 | 21 October 2021 | RR Auction |
| 7 | Aldrin’s flown lunar module surface checklist page | $143,750 | 21 October 2021 | RR Auction |
| 8 | Aldrin’s flown flight plan page | $129,694 | 21 October 2021 | RR Auction |
| 9 | Gene Cernan’s three-times-flown $2 bill | $91,519 | April 2026 | RR Auction |
| 10 | Flown crew-signed quarantine cover, from Aldrin’s collection | $91,506 | 24 October 2024 | RR Auction |
1. Vostok 3KA-2: $2,882,500
Before Gagarin went up, the Soviets flew a test of the Vostok capsule, and this is it. It is a test flight vehicle, not the spacecraft Gagarin rode, but it is the real thing: a Vostok that went to orbit three weeks earlier. A Russian businessman, Evgeny Yurchenko, paid $2,882,500 at Sotheby’s on the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s flight. Space historians called it the most ever paid at public sale for a single space artifact, and no sale since has beaten it in the sources we checked. Some outlets round the figure to $2.8 or $2.9 million.
2. Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 jacket: $2,772,500
Aldrin wore this jacket in flight on Apollo 11, and it is the only flown garment from that mission in private hands. It was the top lot of the Buzz Aldrin: American Icon sale at Sotheby’s New York on 26 July 2022. The estimate was $2 million, and bidding ran almost ten minutes before a phone bidder won it. Sotheby’s called it the most expensive jacket ever sold at auction. Reports quote the price as $2.7 or $2.8 million depending on rounding.
3. Neil Armstrong’s gold Omega Speedmaster: $2,125,000
The 18k gold commemorative Speedmaster that Armstrong received sold at RR Auction on 17 April 2025, with the premium, for $2,125,000. It leads the Apollo 11 items on that house’s top-100 page by a wide margin. This is the most recent seven-figure space lot we found.
4. Wally Schirra’s gold Omega Speedmaster: $1,907,000
The same style of gold watch, from the numbered 1969 Apollo 11 commemorative series, but this one belonged to Schirra, with his Mercury 8, Gemini 6 and Apollo 7 flights engraved on the caseback. Omega gave it to him at a dinner in Houston on 25 November 1969, as watch number 8. It brought $1,907,000 in October 2022. One fan site gave $1,525,563, which is probably the hammer price without the premium.
5. Flown Command Module rotational hand controller: $437,034
A control stick from the Apollo Command Module that actually flew, sold on 25 April 2024. It is the biggest hardware item on this list.
6. Lunar communion kit, flown by Aldrin: $300,000
Aldrin took communion on the Moon, and the small kit he carried went under the hammer on 21 October 2021 for $300,000.
7. Lunar module surface checklist page: $143,750
One flown page from the surface checklist carried in the lunar module, sold at the same October 2021 sale.
8. Flight plan page: $129,694
From the same group of lots, a flown flight plan page went the same day for $129,694.
9. Gene Cernan’s three-times-flown $2 bill: $91,519
The auction house sold this note in April 2026 and said it is believed to be the most valuable $2 bill ever sold at auction in the US. The sale also made a Gemini 8 flown flag at $47,406 and an Apollo 1 signed photograph at $46,926.
10. Aldrin’s flown quarantine cover: $91,506
A crew-signed “Type 3” quarantine cover that flew, from Aldrin’s own collection, sold on 24 October 2024.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- 17 April 2025: Armstrong’s gold Speedmaster at $2,125,000, the largest space result since the 2022 jacket.
- April 2026: Cernan’s three-times-flown $2 bill, a US record for that kind of note.
- October 2026: RR Auction’s space sale was scheduled to end on 22 October, led by Cernan’s lunar surface-used Apollo 17 cuff checklist.
Collections matter too. In July 2018, Armstrong’s family consigned his memorabilia to Heritage Auctions. The first sales on 1 to 3 November 2018 realised $5,276,320, and the total reached $16.7 million by July 2019.
What drives these prices
- Flown beats signed. Items that went to space or to the Moon are worth many times a signed photograph.
- Famous owner. Armstrong, Aldrin and Schirra are the names that pull the biggest bids.
- Scarcity of private ownership. NASA keeps almost all flown Apollo hardware, so what is for sale is rare by default.
- Anniversaries. The Vostok capsule sold on Gagarin’s 50th anniversary.
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FAQ
What is the most expensive piece of space memorabilia ever sold?
The Vostok 3KA-2 capsule, sold at Sotheby’s in April 2011 for $2,882,500.
How much did Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 jacket sell for?
$2,772,500 at Sotheby’s New York on 26 July 2022, a record for a jacket sold at auction.
What did Neil Armstrong’s Omega watch sell for?
$2,125,000 at RR Auction on 17 April 2025.
Can you buy a real moon-flown item?
Yes, but they are scarce. Most Apollo hardware belongs to NASA, so the pieces sold are personal items astronauts kept, such as watches, flags, checklists and covers.
How much did Neil Armstrong’s collection make in total?
Heritage Auctions’ sales of his memorabilia totalled $16.7 million by July 2019.
How we put this list together
We ranked space memorabilia by verified auction price, using results from the auction houses compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices include buyer’s premium where reported, are approximate, and change over time.
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Last updated: October 2026.
