Shuttle crew prepares to leave station

[freedomnorth]

Source: Reuters

HOUSTON (Reuters) -- Shuttle Endeavour astronauts on Sunday prepared to leave the International Space Station after a successful 12-day visit to install the first piece of a Japanese laboratory and assemble a Canadian maintenance robot.

The crew swapped spacesuits, leaving its newest gear and spare parts aboard the outpost, and packed up experiment samples for return to Earth. The shuttle is scheduled to depart the station on Monday.

For the first part of the day, the crew enjoyed time off.

"We had over 33 hours of spacewalking time (on this flight). It's great to see it behind us. The crew is due for a little rest," lead spacewalk officer Zebulon Scoville told reporters at Johnson Space Center.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2329424020080324