A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying Canadian circus billionaire Guy Laliberte, dubbed the first clown in space, and a Russian-American crew touched down in the vast steppe near Arkalyk in northern Kazakhstan on Sunday. Laliberte, a former fire-breather and founder of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil, spent about two weeks in space. The capsule was charred from the heat on re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, but the crew appeared to be in good spirits as a medical team draped them in blankets and carried out routine health checks. The 50-year-old, who is worth an estimated 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, and was reported to have paid more than 35 million dollars to become the world's seventh space tourist, entertained the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) and hosted a unique show from the space outpost. The show, aimed at highlighting the scarcity of clean water for people in many parts of the world, involved singers, dancers and celebrities in 14 cities around the world. Organisers called the Moving Stars and Earth for Water spectacle the first of its kind to be hosted from space. Laliberte was accompanied by Russian Gennady Padalka, Expedition 20 commander of the ISS, and U.S. Flight Engineer Michael Barratt, whose space odyssey lasted for more than half a year.
