Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette takes a moment for a photo on the flight deck of Endeavour during post-launch activities earlier this month. (Reuters/NASA)

Canadian astronaut Julie Payette and the other six crew members of the space shuttle Endeavour have returned safely to Earth, the end of a successful construction mission at the International Space Station

On a clear Florida morning, Endeavour touched down on the runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 10:48 a.m. ET, concluding the 16-day mission.

During the mission, shuttle and station crews installed a porch-like structure used to conduct experiments exposed to the harsh conditions of outer space — the third and final major component to Japan's Kibo laboratory.

The shuttle mission was a milestone for Canada, as it marked the first time two Canadians worked together in space.

Robert Thirsk, from New Westminster, B.C., travelled to the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, which lifted off from a launch pad in Kazakhstan on May 27. He is living on the station for six months, the first Canadian to stay aboard the station for an extended period of time.

The mission was also the first time 13 astronauts worked together on a mission, the largest-ever gathering of people in space.

With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press