The Endeavour 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, is getting ready for landing scheduled at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

However, alternate landing sites that could be used if needed are available at Edwards Air Fore Base, Calif., and White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. Also, the landing can be delayed to Thursday if an emergency occurs. A slight drop in pressure was recorded at one of three auxiliary power units that operate the shuttle’s flight controls during entry, but NASA said it's not a reason for concern.

"This has been a two-week adventure," said co-pilot Gregory Johnson. "It's been a pleasure and an honor to be on it and although we've had wonderful events and some great successes ... we're ready to get home."

Their record-setting mission was not only mentally stressful and reliant on the astronauts' technical expertise, but also involved many old-fashioned physical tasks with low-tech tools such as hammers and pry bars. However, 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.

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.