The Endeavour and its extraordinary crew, made up of Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan, Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi, has ended its record setting mission with a flawless night landing.

Last night, after more than 16 days in space, Endeavour touched down at 8:39 p.m. EST at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"I got to talk to the crew, and the crew was just having a fantastic time reflecting on their mission and looking up at their vehicle that just landed," said Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach. "They were glad to be home, very proud of the work they did, and we're very proud of the work they did, too."

The highly trained crew overcame unexpected troubles and managed to successfully install the first part of the Japanese space agency's new laboratory module, Kibo, and Canada's new robotics system -- the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre.

"It was a super rewarding mission, exciting from the start to the ending," Endeavour's Commander Dominic Gorie said. "Thank you [NASA engineers] for all the help," he said.

After the STS-123 mission, NASA plans another ten, including four more in 2008, to complete construction of the ISS by September 30, 2010, when NASA's three-shuttle fleet is to be retired. The next mission is slated for May, when Discovery will deliver the second part of the enormous Japanese lab Kibo.

Navy Cmdr. Mark E. Kelly will command the STS-124 shuttle mission and Navy Cmdr. Kenneth T. Ham will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists will include NASA astronauts Karen L. Nyberg; Air Force Col. Ronald J. Garan Jr.; and Air Force Reserve Col. Michael E. Fossum. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide also will serve as a mission specialist.