Retired US astronaut and the second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, was recovering after his medical evacuation from Antarctica but is not yet able to return home, his manager Christina Korp said Sunday.

"He still has some congestion in his lungs so has been advised not to take the long flight home to the States and to rest in New Zealand while it clears up," Korp said in a statement.

Aldrin, 86, was evacuated to a hospital in Christchurch on Friday after experiencing health problems while on a trip to the South Pole.