Astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin has sued two of his children and former business manager for trying to take control of his finances and accused them of “slander” for saying he suffers from dementia.

The 88-year-old said in a lawsuit that Janice Aldrin, Andrew Aldrin, and former manager Christina Korp are included in the lawsuit which claimed they took control of millions of dollars of “space memorabilia” and his company finances “for their own self-dealing and enrichment”. Mr Aldrin owns BuzzAldrin Enterprises and a charity group called the ShareSpace Foundation.

He has also accused the three of elder exploitation for "knowingly and through deception or intimidation" keeping him from his property as well as stifling his "personal romantic relationships".

The lawsuit also alleges that trio "have been for the past number of years been slandering Plaintiff in public and/or to other individuals or small groups by stating Plaintiff has Dementia and Alzheimer’s".

The second man to walk on the moon filed the lawsuit in response to his children's Brevard County, Florida, court petition last month claiming their father was spending money "at an alarming rate" and that they should be his legally appointed co-guardians.

His two 60-year-old children - his oldest son is not involved in the lawsuit - said in their petition that "the alleged incapacitated person suffers from cognitive decline...[which] has resulted in loss of memory, confusion, general delusions, paranoia, and unusual behaviour. He is now associating with new acquaintances who appear to be manipulating him with false information to their own benefit and his detriment".

NASA short film: A Tale of Two Rovers

Mr Aldrin is set to be evaluated by a court-appointed mental health expert later this week.

The former astronaut appeared on Good Morning America earlier this week and said: “I was hoping that whatever the differences are could be worked out, but it appears as though it wasn’t moving in that direction".

He said he is overcome with "sorrow" that he felt the need to file the lawsuit.

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The two children said in a statement that Mr Aldin lawsuit is "unjustified" and that they "love and respect our father very much and remain hopeful that we can rise about this situation".

Ms Korp said she was “being unfairly defamed” in the elder Mr Aldrin's lawsuit and was “saddened” by what she called “unjustified and malicious attacks" on her character.

Mr Aldrin's lawyer Robert Bauer said in an interview also on Good Morning America that the younger Mr and Ms Aldrin "are people who have seen opportunities and see opportunities for themselves in the future and are more interested in Buzz Aldrin’s legacy than Buzz Aldrin".

Both he and his client are confident the Apollo 11 astronaut can pass the mental health exam.