Buzz Aldrin, 2nd to walk on moon, evacuated from South Pole

November 30, 2016 11:00 pm • Last Updated: December 01, 2016 12:49 pm

By By MARCIA DUNN

In this Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, file photo, Buzz Aldrin, former NASA Astronaut and Apollo 11 Pilot, prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness hearing on human exploration goals and commercial space competitiveness. Officials said Aldrin, one of the first men to walk on the moon, has been evacuated by plane from the South Pole for medical reasons. An association of Antarctica tour operators said Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, that Aldrin was visiting the South Pole as part of a private tourist group when his health deteriorated. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is recuperating at a New Zealand hospital after being evacuated from the South Pole.

Aldrin, who's 86, was visiting Antarctica as a tourist when he fell ill. He was flown to Christchurch from McMurdo Station, a U.S. research center on the Antarctic coast.

Tour company White Desert says Aldrin has fluid in his lungs, but is responding well to antibiotics and in stable condition. He'll remain hospitalized overnight for observation.

Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first men on the moon, on July 20, 1969. Armstrong died in 2012.

Just three weeks ago, Aldrin was at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the unveiling of a new astronaut exhibit.

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