Feb 17, 2008 7:35 am US/Pacific
Atlantis' Crew Prepares To Return To Earth
Space Shuttle Wraps Up Mission, Will Head Home Wednesday
CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS) ―
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The exterior of the Space Shuttle Atlantis' crew cabin and docking system is seen Feb. 9, 2008.
NASA/Getty Images
The crew of the shuttle Atlantis will spend Sunday sealing the hatches to the international space station as they prepare to head home, CBS station WFOR-TV in Miami.
The shuttle will undock Monday with an extra passenger onboard; astronaut Daniel Tani who has spent the last four months on the orbiting space station. Tani, who was scheduled to leave the space station last October, spent an extra two months in space because of Atlantis' fuel gauge problems.
"I love living here on the station. It's comfortable. It's fun. It's exciting. The view, of course," said the 47-year old Tani on Saturday. "But obviously, I want to get back and see my family."
"I look forward to some odd things," he added. "I'm looking forward to putting food on a plate and eating several things at once, which you can't do up here. I'm looking forward to spitting my toothpaste out in a sink rather than swallowing it."
While in space, Tani suffered a personal tragedy; the death of his 90-year old mother who was killed in car accident near Chicago just before Christmas. When he returns to NASA, Tani said he planned on putting together a guide for future space station residents who may have to deal with a family tragedy while in orbit.
During the nine day mission, Atlantis' crew and residents of the space station installed the new European lab, Columbus, and conducted three spacewalks to hook it up and do other space station chores.
Atlantis is scheduled to land Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, Fla., or the backup touchdown site in California.
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