The world's first female space tourist has returned to earth with two astronauts after eight days on the International Space Station.
The capsule carrying Anousheh Ansari as well as crew members from the US and Russia touched down in Kazakhstan early today.
In a statement from space tourism firm Space Adventures, Ms Ansrari was quoted as saying the $25 million trip had exceeded her expectations.
'The experience was more than I had ever imagined. Seeing the Earth from space will be forever etched in my mind,' she said.
Speaking at a news conference after the landing, the head of the Russian firm that built the space station said the mission showed that non-professional cosmonauts could prepare themselves in a short period of time and successfully fly into space.
Ms Ansari, who was born in Iran but later became a US citizen, is the fourth ever space tourist.
