After spending five months aboard the International Space Station, Nebraska astronaut Clay Anderson is heading back to earth.

"What we are doing is very important, very important for all humankind," said Anderson, who was born in Omaha and graduated from Ashland-Greenwood High School.

"It's worth the risk, it's worth the cost and you folks on the ground are the people that make it happen, so I want you to take pride in your work and constantly look toward the heavens. It's where you'll see your future."

With that, Anderson boarded the space shuttle Discovery and left the space station behind. The hatch joining the two crafts was closed, though the shuttle won't start back to earth until Monday.

When the shuttle returns with Anderson aboard, his Nebraska family will be there to welcome him. They left town Saturday for Florida.

Friends and relatives have been watching his mission closely, from the take off in May to his scheduled return Wednesday.

“I think I'm just going to stand there and stare at him,” said mom Alice Anderson of Ashland. “I mean I want to hug him, make sure he's real, that he's really back, that he's really there."

Anderson's family says they've missed him, but are very proud of Nebraska's first astronaut.

Weather permitting, Anderson will be back on earth by noon Wednesday.