One of the first two astronauts to set foot on the Moon in July 1969, Buzz Aldrin has had to be evacuated from the South Pole by air, after he fell ill during a tourist trip. Buzz Aldrin was recovered by aircraft to a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand where he recovered from a bout of altitude sickness. Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin is 86 years old. The Apollo 11 mission commander and first moon walker Neil Armstrong died in 2012 at the age of 82.