As Flight Day 13 winds down, we have Endeavour with final clearance for landing tomorrow (see our Flight Facts for details). Three of the crew spoke with schoolkids in the Great White North today.  NASA reports:

Endeavour Cleared for Landing

Mission specialists Barbara Morgan, Dave Williams and Commander Scott Kelly
Image above: (From left) STS-118 mission specialists Barbara Morgan, Dave Williams and Commander Scott Kelly talk to schoolchildren from the La Ronge, Saskatchewan area. Image: NASA TV

Mission managers announced today that Space Shuttle Endeavour is cleared for landing. The decision came after a thorough review of imagery and data collected during late inspection of the orbiter on Sunday.

In space, the seven-member STS-118 crew is preparing for its return to Earth aboard Endeavour after a successful stay at the International Space Station.

The crew completed tests this morning of Endeavour’s systems and engines that will be used for re-entry and landing. Other preparations include stowing equipment and a 30-minute deorbit briefing. The crew will also have some off-duty time to prepare for Tuesday’s landing opportunities.

In other activities, crew members took time out of their schedule at 11:46 a.m. today to field questions from Canadian schoolchildren from the La Ronge, Saskatchewan, area.

Endeavour’s first landing opportunity on Tuesday is at 12:32 p.m. EDT at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., with the deorbit burn occurring at 11:25 a.m. A second opportunity is available at the Florida spaceport at 2:06 p.m. The deorbit burn would occur at 1 p.m.

+ View STS-118 landing ground tracks

Edwards Air Force Base in California and the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico will not be activated Tuesday as possible landing sites.

Meanwhile, mission managers continue to monitor Hurricane Dean as it moves westward in the Caribbean Sea.

The STS-118 crew members spent almost nine days at the international outpost. They continued the on-orbit construction of the station and transferred tons of cargo between the two spacecraft. The STS-118 crew conducted four spacewalks at the station. The two major objectives were the installation of the S5 and the replacement of a failed attitude control gyroscope.

Hurricane Dean Information
On-orbit Hurricane Dean Video: + Real Video | + Windows Media
+ NASA Hurricane Resource Page

Flight Day 12 pics and video are up at the JSC Gallery. Discussion here. Status Report #25 here. Check the links at right for play-by-play and NASA TV.