Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin evacuated from South Pole after falling ill
LEGENDARY astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, was today evacuated from the South Pole after falling ill.
Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin has been evacuated from South Pole
No stranger to inhospitable environments, Aldrin, 86, was part of a tour group visiting Antarctica when his condition “deteriorated”.
Officials confirmed he was flown from the South Pole to a US research base on Ross Island, just off the coast of Antarctica, after the health scare.
The father-of-three is due to be flown to New Zealand for further treatment.
The National Science Foundation (NSF), which evacuated Mr Aldrin, said in a statement last night: “The NSF has agreed to provide a humanitarian medical evacuation flight for an ailing visitor from its Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to McMurdo Station on the Antarctic coast and then to New Zealand.
“The patient is Buzz Aldrin, who in 1969, became one of the first men to walk on the Moon, as part of the two man lunar landing crew of Apollo 11.”
Tour operator White Desert said Mr Alrdin “was evacuated on the first available flight out of the South Pole” as a “precaution”.
South Pole here I come! #antarctica #WhiteDesert #GYATAntarctica pic.twitter.com/PPjfmKvanZ
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) November 29, 2016
“His condition was described as stable upon White Desert doctor’s hand-over to the US Antarctic Program medical team”, the statement added.
His condition was described as stable
Aldrin, a former fighter pilot, stepped onto the moon’s surface about 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong took the historic first step on July 20, 1969.
Their moonwalk, part of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, was watched by a then-record television audience of 600 million people.
Mr Aldrin had this week revealed he was excited about his trip to Antarctica, posing for photographs with fellow travellers at the airport.
The astronaut was the second man to walk on the Moon
We're ready to go to Antarctica! May be our last opportunity to tweet for a few days! We're go for departure to the launchpad! pic.twitter.com/vFvsu6OQhb
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) November 29, 2016
On Monday, the morning of the flight, he tweeted: “We’re ready to go to Antarctica! May be our last opportunity to tweet for a few days. We’re go for departure to the launchpad.”
This was followed by: “Buzz’s Polar Penguins countdown to liftoff has commenced.”
We're ready to go to Antarctica! May be our last opportunity to tweet for a few days! We're go for departure to the launchpad! pic.twitter.com/vFvsu6OQhb
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) November 29, 2016
Buzz Aldrin won't admit there are UFO's on the moon
And finally, he said: “South Pole here I come.”
Aldrin has been a vocal supporter of US space missions to Mars, saying in 2014: “I believe that this nation should commit itself within two decades to leading international permanence on the planet Mars.”