Buzz Aldrin on South Pole Expedition, Hospitalization: 'It Was Worth It'

Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin discussed being evacuated from the South Pole after showing symptoms of altitude sickness.

"When turning back is about as difficult as pressing on, you press on because you got an objective – especially when they tell me that I set a record — the oldest guy to the South Pole," Aldrin told NBC's "Today" show, his first interview since the incident. "See, now it was worth it really."

Aldrin, 86, was hospitalized for lung congestion after having to be evacuated from a South Pole expedition earlier in December.

"I got out of breath, you know," he said. "That's nothing new, except it's a little more concentrated. It's cold and you've got a lot of heavy stuff and not much air to breathe up there."

Fellow astronaut John Glenn, who died Dec. 8, was a fighter pilot with Aldrin in the Korean War.

Aldrin said he heard about Glenn's death while he was hospitalized in New Zealand, waiting on his lung congestion to clear.

"A typical all-American guy," Aldrin said of Glenn. "I admired that guy so much, even though he was a Marine. But he knew how to fly that airplane, I can tell you that."

• John Glenn Remembered as NASA Civil Rights Trailblazer by 'Hidden Figures' Cast at Premiere
• Buzz Aldrin Gets Visit From NASA After Polar Evacuation