Moonwalker medically evacuated from South Pole

BUZZ Aldrin, the former US astronaut and the second person to walk on the moon, was in a stable condition after being evacuated from the South Pole to a New Zealand hospital because of a medical problem, a US agency and his tour company said yesterday.

Aldrin, 86, had arrived by cargo plane in Christchurch, New Zealand, according to the US National Science Foundation, which manages the US Antarctic Programme.

He had been visiting the South Pole as part of a tourist group when his condition deteriorated, the tourism company White Desert said in a statement.

Aldrin had fluid in his lungs but was in good spirits and responding well to antibiotics, the company said.

He would be kept in the hospital for observation.

Aldrin was a fighter pilot during the Korean War before joining the US astronaut programme.

On July 20 1969, he stepped on the moon about 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong had taken the historic first step.

Their moonwalk was part of the Apollo 11 lunar landing that was watched by a then-record television audience of 600 million people.

Last year, Aldrin helped launch a research institute at the Florida Institute of Technology aimed at paving a path toward Mars exploration and settlement.

On Tuesday, he wore a T-shirt saying “Destination: Mars” as he prepared in Cape Town for the trip to Antarctica.

During his stay in Cape Town‚ he took time out to visit Table Mountain‚ posing for a selfie in the cable car.

“From Table Mountain it’s all downhill from here. (Til we get to the South Pole)”‚ he wrote on his Facebook page.