UPDATE: Dec. 1,Bazaar 2016, 1:26 p.m. EST Buzz Aldrin has been safely evacuated to Christchurch, New Zealand from the South Pole, according to a statement released by White Desert, the tour company Aldrin was traveling with.
"He is currently has fluid in his lungs but is responding well to antibiotics and being kept overnight for observation," the statement reads. "His condition is stable and his manager, who is currently with him, described him being in good spirits."
Our original story follows.
Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was evacuated from the South Pole Wednesday after becoming ill.
Aldrin, who is 86-years-old, was visiting Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica as part of a tour group that left for the South Pole from Cape Town, South Africa on Nov. 29.
The U.S. National Science Foundation, working with the Air Force, evacuated Aldrin to McMurdo Station -- a US Antarctic research facility -- via a ski-equipped LC-130 cargo plane. He is in stable condition, according to a statement posted by White Desert, the tour operator.
"... Aldrin was visiting the [South] Pole as part of a tourist group and while there his condition deteriorated," the tour group operator's statement reads. The statement does not provide any details on Aldrin's illness.
"As a precaution, following discussion between the White Desert doctor and the US Antarctic Program [USAP] doctor, Mr. Aldrin, accompanied by a member of his team, was evacuated on the first available flight out of the South Pole to McMurdo with the USAP under the care of a USAP doctor."
Aldrin will now be evacuated to New Zealand.
It is currently a peak time of year to visit Antarctica as a tourist or researcher. People usually make their way down to the South Pole during summer in the Southern Hemisphere, from about October to March or April each year.
Aldrin has been excitedly tweeting about this trip for more than a week.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Aldrin's manager, Christina Korp, also accompanied him to Antarctica, but it's unclear whether or not she left the station when he did.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Aldrin became the second person to walk on the moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission that brought him and Neil Armstrong to the lunar surface for the first time.
Since that flight, Aldrin has remained an active member of the spaceflight community. Most recently, he has championed the idea that the United States and NASA should focus on getting people to the surface of Mars.
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