HOUSTON Astronauts are up for the daunting task of International Space Station (ISS) construction, said Space Shuttle Atlantis commander Terry Wilcutt Thursday.

"All of us in our office respond to challenges and when they said we think theres more on your plate than you can possibly get done, we said send us up there and well take a shot at it," he said. "We sent down asking for more work because we finished everything they had and wanted more to do."

Wilcutt added he expects future crews to perform the same or better as they meet the challenge of assembling the various modules of the orbital outpost now scheduled for completion in 2006.

Atlantis and its seven-person crew touched down early Wednesday morning following an almost 12-day mission to supply and equip the station before its first occupants arrive in late fall.

The next challenge falls to the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery set to launch October 5, 2000 to continue assembly of the station and deliver more supplies. The crew will make four spacewalks to install a truss that contains gyros and an antenna in addition to placing another docking adapter on the station. The spacewalks require the astronauts to precisely align the items and hook up electrical and data connections.

Wilcutt, a U.S. Marine colonel, said he attributes mission success to training and people. Atlantis crew had about seven months to train for their tasks aboard the station. Crews typically train one year or more, but that is likely to change as the pace of station construction quickens.

"They gave me the best crew and I did nothing magical I just let them do their jobs," he said.

During the busy mission, the crew made one spacewalk and delivered several tons of supplies, along with installing batteries, electronic equipment, an exercise treadmill and the all-important station toilet. In addition to Wilcutt, rounding out the crew were pilot Scott Altman and mission specialists Ed Lu, Dan Burbank, Rick Mastracchio, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov.

Lu and Malenchenko, a veteran Mir cosmonaut, made a spacewalk and climbed along the station hand-over-hand, much like rock climbers. The spacewalk marked the farthest tethered spacewalk from a shuttle and a departure from typical U.S. spacewalk procedures. On most U.S. spacewalks, astronauts are attached to a long cable and they slide along or use foot restraints at the work site or on the shuttles 50-foot (15-meter) robotic arm.

Lu made his debut as a spacewalker and, though he kept a businesslike demeanor during the 6.5-hour effort, said he took time to marvel at the beauty of space and Earth.

"As we [were] working on cables, I looked at the Amazon and saw thunderstorms hundreds of miles across," he said. "I thought I cant believe Im seeing this.'"

One of the crews duties was to turn the station house into a home for the three occupants soon to arrive. Altman said they left a few personal touches for Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev who should arrive in early November to live in the station.

"I think that every crew member will bring something and leave a little bit of themselves, and that will turn the house into a home," Altman said. "We left behind a few surprises and personal things and notes theyll find as they move in."

Early Thursday afternoon, the crew returned home to Houstons Ellington Field to greet well-wishers and employees from Johnson Space Center.