Buzz Aldrin sold his space jacket, presidential medal, and other artifacts at auction for $8.2 million, using a law change to let astronauts cash in

A collection of space artifacts, including his Presidential Medal of Freedom, were sold in an auction on Tuesday.

The items were sold by the auction house.

The jacket that Aldrin wore in flight to and from the moon sold for over $2 million.

The second man to walk on the moon was 92-year-old Buzz Aldrin.

Only twelve people have walked on the moon, and only four are still alive.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom was one of several medals put up for auction.

The highest award for civilians was given to Aldrin by Nixon.

A pen and a circuit breaker that helped fix a malfunction on the Apollo 11 mission were not sold. The New York Times reported that it was expected to sell for at least $1 million.

He didn't give a lot of information on his decision to sell the items. The money will be used for something, but it's not clear what.

"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," he said.

The most valuable American space-flown artifact ever sold at auction was the jacket worn by Buzz Aldrin.

This is not the first time that astronauts' items have been sold.

The sale of items by his sons after his death caused controversy.

In 2012 it was made clear that astronauts were able to sell their items.

The law passed by President Barack Obama made it clear that NASA's Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo crew members have full ownership of artifacts collected in the missions.

There were a number of cases that challenged the ownership. The sixth man on the moon was the subject of one of the cases. Mitchell was sued by NASA for putting a camera from the Apollo 14 mission up for auction.