--- title: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Evacuated from Antarctica description: Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin will evacuated Antarctica for medical reasons, the National Science Foundation said Thursday canonical: https://time.com/4587138/buzz-aldrin-south-pole-evacuation/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-01T13:05:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:04:22.281Z article:section: Science og:title: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Evacuated from Antarctica og:description: Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin will evacuated Antarctica for medical reasons, the National Science Foundation said Thursday og:url: https://time.com/4587138/buzz-aldrin-south-pole-evacuation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c46b37f01c310fc/6988b0328fd2eeaf54355089/buzz-aldrin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 31th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner To Benefit The Buoniconti Fund To Cure Paralysis - Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin Evacuated from Antarctica twitter:description: Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin will evacuated Antarctica for medical reasons, the National Science Foundation said Thursday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c46b37f01c310fc/6988b0328fd2eeaf54355089/buzz-aldrin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Ailing' Buzz Aldrin in Emergency Evacuation from South Pole  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 1, 2016 1:05 PM UTC  The Great American Icon Award recipient Buzz Aldrin speaks onstage during the 31th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner on Sept. 12, 2016 in New York City. The Great American Icon Award recipient Buzz Aldrin speaks onstage during the 31th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner on Sept. 12, 2016 in New York City.Thos Robinson—Getty Images for The Buoniconti  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 1, 2016 1:05 PM UTC Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin had to be evacuated from the South Pole for medical reasons, the [National Science Foundation said](https://www.nsf.gov/news/news%5Fsumm.jsp?cntn%5Fid=190518&org=NSF&from=news) Thursday, and will be taken to nearby New Zealand for treatment. The NSF, which is providing the air lift, said that a New York Air National Guard plane will transport Aldrin from Antarctica to New Zealand “as soon as possible.” He appears to have been in Antartica as a tourist, posting several photos in advance of his journey to Twitter. The emergency request for an “ailing visitor” was made by The Antarctic Company, a South African tourism company, according to the NSF. The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators confirmed Aldrin’s evacuation, saying he was “stable” when he was taken from the South Pole to McMurdo base in Antarctica. Aldrin, 86, was the second man to walk on the moon as part of the 1969 Apollo 11 crew. > [](https://twitter.com/TheRealBuzz/status/803501192810823681) > [](https://twitter.com/TheRealBuzz/status/803488279660216320) Aldrin has [focused](http://time.com/4014856/buzz-aldrin-colonize-mars-2040/) his time on supporting human colonization of Mars in recent years. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4587138/buzz-aldrin-south-pole-evacuation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4587138/buzz-aldrin-south-pole-evacuation/"},"headline":"'Ailing' Buzz Aldrin in Emergency Evacuation from South Pole","datePublished":"2016-12-01T13:05:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:04:22.281Z","description":"The famed astronaut, 86, was apparently visiting Antarctica as a tourist","url":"https://time.com/4587138/buzz-aldrin-south-pole-evacuation/","keywords":["Space"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c46b37f01c310fc/6988b0328fd2eeaf54355089/buzz-aldrin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c46b37f01c310fc/6988b0328fd2eeaf54355089/buzz-aldrin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"31th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner To Benefit The Buoniconti Fund To Cure Paralysis - Dinner","caption":"31th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner To Benefit The Buoniconti Fund To Cure Paralysis - Dinner","creditText":"Thos Robinson—Getty Images for The Buoniconti","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4587138/buzz-aldrin-south-pole-evacuation/","name":"'Ailing' Buzz Aldrin in Emergency Evacuation from South Pole"}}]}] ```