Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte will begin his return to Earth tonight from the International Space Station, after a nearly two-week trip that was capped off by a star-studded, international concert to highlight the world's shortage of clean water.
The Cirque du soleil founder will return home aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station just after 9 p.m. EDT.
Joining him will be Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and NASA astronaut Mike Barratt. The trio is scheduled to land in Kazakhastan at 12:31 a.m. EDT Sunday.
While Padalka and Barratt had been on six-month missions to the ISS, Laliberte paid $35 million for his 12-day trip, which included nine days at the orbiting laboratory.
The former street juggler and fire-eater used his unique vacation to raise awareness for his One Drop Foundation, which aims to highlight the increasing shortage of clean water.
The 14-city, five-continent show included former U.S. vice president Al Gore, U2, Joss Stone, Shakira and environmentalist David Suzuki, among other performers and activists.
At one point, Laliberte and Bono had a video chat during U2's concert in Tampa.
"You are the first clown in space and we think it's a great idea for you to give us your perspective on our little planet while you're not on our little planet and instead looking down on it," Bono said. "How do we look from there, how does our little planet look, Guy?"
Laliberte replied that "planet Earth looks so great but also so fragile."
Estimated costs for the event range from $6 million to $10 million.
While Laliberte was the first space tourist from Canada, he was the seventh non-astronaut to blast off in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
He was required to undergo five months of training for the trip at a facility called Star City, just outside Moscow.
He blasted off on Sept. 30 and arrived at the ISS on Oct. 2. He was greeted by Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk, who is on his own six-month mission to the space laboratory.
With files from The Associated Press
