Former astronaut and New Jersey native Buzz Aldrin is said to be "recovering well" after he was medically evacuated from the South Pole.

Aldrin's manager Christina Korp posted the update on the official Buzz Aldrin Twitter account. Korp also posted a photo of her and Aldrin, with the astronaut smiling in his hospital bed in New Zealand.

According to a statement Aldrin currently has fluid in his lungs but is responding well to antibiotics. The 86-year-old is said to be in good spirits.

Aldrin was part of an Antarctica sightseeing tour, along with son Andrew. The group departed Tuesday from Cape Town, South Africa, on a trip that was supposed to last just over a week. Doctors agreed an evacuation was prudent after Aldrin's condition deteriorated, according to his staff in Florida.

Korp posted on her own Twitter account that Aldrin did make it to the South Pole before he was evacuated.

The U.S. military air crew that evacuated Aldrin from the South Pole is a New York-based National Guard unit that specializes in missions to some of the world's most remote places.

The unit, the only one in the world to fly ski-equipped aircraft, is currently on its annual Antarctica mission. The unit also flies missions to Greenland and Canada's Arctic region.