Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was evacuated from the South Pole after becoming sick while touring.
The 86-year-old former astronaut was visiting Antarctica as a tourist and was evacuated to the U.S. Antarctic Program’s research center. The touring company said in a statement that Aldrin was stable under the care of a doctor, but his condition had “deteriorated.”
The evacuation flight was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Aldrin is one of only 12 humans to walk on the moon. Seven of the astronauts are still alive, and include Aldrin, Alan Bean (age 84), David Scott (age 84), John W. Young (age 86), Charles Duke (age 81), Eugene Cernan (age 82) and Harrison Schmitt (age 81.)
Every living person to walk on the moon is past the average American life expectancy of 79 years.
Attempts to get some new moonwalkers, however, aren’t going well. President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress were more interested in funding global warming science than going back to the moon during their tenure. Obama has repeatedly attempted to cut the parts of NASA that focus on science and exploration, so that money could be redirected to global warming research.
President-elect Donald Trump’s administration appears to be interested in returning American astronauts to the moon or sending them to Mars.
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