Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, has been evacuated from the South Pole after falling ill.
The 86-year-old former astronaut was visiting Antarctica as part of a tourist group but while there his condition deteriorated.
Following discussions between the tourist company’s doctor and the US Antarctic Program (USAP) doctor it was decided that Aldrin should be airlifted out of the South Pole.
A flight was requested and he was then airlifted to McMurdo, a United States Antarctic research centre where his condition was described as ‘stable’ by the USAP medical team.
Mr Aldrin will then be flown to New Zealand for further medical attention at the first available opportunity.
In a statement on their website, the tourist company White Desert confirmed that Mr Aldrin’s evacuation had simply been a ‘precaution’ after his condition had deteriorated.
Just a few days before he left, Mr Aldrin had tweeted about his journey.
Buzz Aldrin was part of the Apollo 11 NASA mission which, in 1969, saw himself and Neil Armstrong become the first people to walk on the surface of the Moon.
Since then Mr Aldrin has been a strong advocate of the colonisation of Mars, regularly speaking at events and appearing in the media to promote humanity’s move to other planets in the solar system.