Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberte, who returned to Earth early Sunday morning, says his head is still in the stars after a nearly two-week trip as Canada's first space tourist.
"It's an emotional feeling that is very difficult to describe with words," he said on NASA TV Sunday.
"Let me come back on Earth and I'll probably be able to talk a little bit more about it."
Laliberte, wearing a clown's nose, gave the thumbs up as he was removed from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft after landing in Kazakhstan around 12:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday.
The Cirque du soleil founder floated to Earth alongside American astronaut Mike Barratt and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka after parachutes deployed to soften the spacecraft's landing.
The rocket did not experience any problems as it re-entered the atmosphere, according to officials with Russia's space agency, and the landing was nearly right on target.
Helicopter crews were waiting to help the trio leave the capsule.
After leaving the capsule, the men paid a visit to an inflatable medical tent to be examined by doctors and rest while they re-acclimated to the Earth's gravity.
During an interview broadcast on NASA TV, Laliberte said he was still adjusting to the Earth's gravity, but was anxious to follow up on the two-hour show he hosted from space to bring attention to the world's shortage of clean water.
"As you know, I was on a personal mission which was to create an event to talk about the situation of water in the world," he said of the show.
"I can't wait to know what happened -- because I was in space I don't know at all the result."
Laliberte's parents, Gaston and Blondine, along with 50 family members and friends, watched the landing at the Canada Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil, just outside of Montreal.
"When we saw the red nose, we said, `He's OK,'" Gaston Laliberte told The Canadian Press in an interview.
"For me, it was a good sign that he made the descent from space correctly."
While Padalka and Barratt had been on six-month missions to the International Space Station, 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 raises awareness of water conservation issues.
On Friday, Laliberte hosted a 14-city, five-continent show that included former U.S. vice president Al Gore, U2, Joss Stone, Shakira and environmentalist David Suzuki, among other performers and activists.
Estimated costs for the event range from $6 million to $10 million.
While Laliberte, 50, 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 with Russian Maxim Surayev and American Jeffrey Williams from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Laliberte arrived at the ISS on Oct. 2, and was greeted by Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk, who is on his own six-month mission to the space laboratory.
Thirsk is scheduled to return to Earth on Dec. 1.
With files from The Associated Press
