Space shuttle Endeavour gets set to attempt its final landing

The space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to land for the last time on Wednesday after a 16-day mission to outfit the International Space Station.

It is the last mission for Endeavour and the second-to-the-last for the U.S. space-shuttle program, which will end after the Atlantis mission scheduled for July.

Endeavour's mission was special for many Americans, as shuttle commander Mark Kelly left behind his wife, Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords , D-Ariz., who has been rehabilitating since she was shot in the head by an attacker in Tucson in January.

"If Endeavour lands Wednesday, it will have spent 299 days in space and traveled more than 122.8 million miles during its 25 flights. It launched on its first mission on May 7, 1992," NASA said of the craft in a statement.

The landing opportunities for the shuttle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will be at 2:35 a.m. and 4:11 a.m. "If the shuttle is unable to return Wednesday, additional opportunities are available on Thursday at Kennedy and at backup landing site Edwards Air Force Base in California," NASA said.