By The Canadian Press

LONGUEUIL, Que. - Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk admits, to his surprise, that living on board the International Space Station for the past six months hasn't been all that stressful.

"I thought living in an isolated environment would be psychologically difficult," he said Tuesday during his last news conference from the orbiting space outpost. "But I have special friends up here and it was not difficult at all."

Thirsk has been living and working on the space station since May 29 after arriving on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

It has been a busy six months with rarely a quiet moment on the space laboratory.

Three different U.S. space shuttles have ferried up fresh crews and visitors and a number of Russian cargo vessels have also brought up supplies.

Thirsk was visited by fellow Canadian astronaut Julie Payette in mid-July and by Canada's first space tourist, Guy Laliberte, in early October.

Thirsk, a medical doctor, is scheduled to return to Earth next Tuesday morning on another Soyuz capsule.

The father of three said he's looking ahead to different things after he's back on the ground.

"I miss my family most of all of course, so that's No. 1 on the list," Thirsk said.

"I'm already dreaming about those first hugs when I see my family in Moscow in just over a week from now."

Thirsk also admits there's another woman he misses - Mother Nature.

"I miss the wind, I miss the sunlight, I miss the smell of flowers and freshly cut grass," he said.

Thirsk celebrated his 56th birthday in space on Aug. 17.