Buzz Aldrin ‘in good spirits’ after South Pole sickness evacuation

Iconic space pioneer Buzz Aldrin recently had a sightseeing trip to Antarctica cut short and had to be evacuated to a New Zealand hospital when his medical condition deteriorated.

“Upon arrival in Christchurch, the Antarctic program’s logistics hub in New Zealand, Aldrin was transferred to a local medical facility,” said a statement from the National Science Foundation.

The 86-year-old and second person to have walked on the Moon was said to be responding positively to treatment for pneumonia.

Aldrin “currently has fluid in his lungs but is responding well to antibiotics and being kept overnight for observation. His condition is stable and his manager, who is currently with him, described him being in good spirits,” according to White Desert, the tourism company that the former astronaut had signed up with to get to Antarctica.

Taking a Trip to a Harsh Land

Aldrin had been on a trip to Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station that was expected to last until December 12. Doctors with the tourism company and the US Antarctic Program determined an evacuation would the ideal proactive step, White Desert said.

The former NASA man was put on the first available plane to McMurdo Station, which is located on the Antarctic coast. From McMurdo, a different plane took Aldrin to New Zealand.

White Desert specializes in providing Antarctic tours and has been operating there for the past decade. The company is a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, which was established in 1991 with the objective of advocating commercial travel to the Antarctic that is safe and sustainable.

Amundsen-Scott Station, where Aldrin’s tour group went, is one of three NSF stations in Antarctica that operates year-round. Scientists there are investigating our atmosphere and dark matter using a pair of radio telescopes, and an observatory that watches subatomic particles generated by black holes and other cosmic phenomena.

Other health-related evacuations have occurred in the past few years at both Amundsen-Scott and at McMurdo Station. Americans have populated the South Pole for study purposes since 1956. Amundsen-Scott was constructed in 1957 but has been kept up to date and re-constructed over the decades.

—–

Image credit: AP

The post Buzz Aldrin ‘in good spirits’ after South Pole sickness evacuation appeared first on Redorbit.

redOrbit.com
offers Science, Space, Technology, Health news, videos, images and reference information. For the latest science news, space news, technology news, health news visit redOrbit.com frequently. Learn something new every day.”