The departure from the International Space Station was celebrated by shuttle Endeavour’s crew through a meal that also praised Thanksgiving Day. Once the meal was over, the visitors had to prepare the separation from the ISS, as the mission is now finally over and Endeavour needs to return to Earth.

The 12-day mission managed to cover all the scheduled tasks, which included a significant improvement of the living space and also some work outside the station. The add-ons brought to the station are a new toilet, a new kitchen, some physical exercise equipment, two small bedrooms and also the troublesome recycling system. All these new features will be highly needed once NASA will proceed with its plans to enlarge the ISS’ crew from three astronauts to six. The move is scheduled for 2009, but the exact date is still uncertain as there are many aspects that need to be verified before everything is set in motion.

The station’s exterior was also part of the mission’s focus, as the jammed joint of the solar rotator wing, which was malfunctioning for the past year, had to be cleaned and lubricated. The fix will bring a significant help in next year’s missions, which will demand all the energy sources available to function at their best.

"Thank you very much for the extreme home makeover. You've totally fixed us up on the inside and on the outside. I think everyone is ecstatic," said space station commander Mike Fincke as members of the two crews said their good-byes. "You guys were such perfect guests. You left the place cleaner than you found it," he added.

"I'd like to think we achieved our goals," said Endeavour commander Chris Ferguson. Today’s activities will be focused on the inspections of the shuttle’s heat shielding, in order to make sure that the impact with space debris did not cause any significant damage. The process will be completed using the shuttle’s camera and laser-tipped robot arm.

American astronaut Greg Chamitoff will also return to Earth after six months spent in space. He was replaced by Sandra Magnus, who will remain on the ISS until late February. After such a long stay it is clear that Chamitoff is extremely anxious to get back. "I'm really looking forward to seeing my family. I just can't wait to get home," he said, adding that "All my thoughts are there now."

So far, the mission is considered a great success, even though the crew had a hard time with the recycling system, which took more than 5 days to fix and not only that, but during the first scheduled spacewalk, a bag containing $100,000 worth of equipment was lost in space in a moment of inattention. With all these mishaps, the crew still managed to gather the needed samples from the recycling system and also completed the work outside the station, sharing the remaining tools.

Endeavour's astronauts are expected to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday at 12:18 p.m. CST.