Buzz Aldrin is being cared for in Christchurch hospital by one Dr David Bowie.

Aldrin, the second man to walk on the surface of the moon, is recovering in hospital after he fell ill with fluid on his lungs during a trip to Antarctica.

He managed to make it to the South Pole, and in doing so, the adventurous American became the oldest man to reach the southernmost point on Earth.

NASA Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon in 1969 in a photograph taken by mission commander Neil Armstrong.

Aldrin, who has thrown his weight behind research into a mission to Mars, is 86.

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It turns out the space pioneer is being treated by a doctor with the same name as the legendary singer, who died in January.

Aldrin's manager Christina Korp tweeted their thanks to Canterbury District Health Board doctor David Bowie and suggested the former astronaut could be given the all-clear in a day or two.

"You can't make this stuff up."

Aldrin's daughter Jan has also arrived in New Zealand and her father tweeted photos of the family, his manager, and Dr Bowie.

He had been visiting the South Pole as part of a tourist group when a medical condition deteriorated.

Korp said it is hopeful he could be released in a day or two.

Bowie released Space Oddity a few days before the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the momentous moonwalk was watched by a then-record worldwide audience of 600 million viewers.