After spending ten days in space on board the International Space Station, the world's seventh tourist astronaut, Canadian billionaire Guy Laliberté, returned to Earth this morning when a Soyuz capsule landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan. A Russian and a United States astronaut were also on board the Soyuz.

Mr Laliberté, who founded the world renown Cirque du Soleil in 1984, wore a red clown's nose during most of the voyage. He paid around 24 million euros to take part in the mission.

Two days before landing he hosted an international performance, which was relayed via the space station, to draw attention to the fact that much of the world's population does not have access to clean water. The performance took place in 14 cities and included whales, ballerinas, the Irish rock star Bono and speakers such as former US vice-president Al Gore.

Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil
Photo by Wikimedia Commons