This 89th Space Shuttle mission was the 42nd   landing of the orbiter at KSC, and STS-89 was the eighth of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas, Ph.D., succeeded NASA astronaut and Mir 24 crew member David Wolf, M.D., who was on the Russian space station since late September 1997. Dr. Wolf returned to Earth on Endeavour with the remainder of the STS-89 crew, including Commander Terrence Wilcutt, Pilot Joe Edwards, Ph.D., and Mission Specialists James Reilly, Ph.D.; Michael Anderson; Bonnie Dunbar, Ph.D.; and Salizhan Sharipov with the Russian Space Agency.

In addition to the docking and crew exchange, STS-89 included the transfer of science, logistical equipment and supplies between the two orbiting spacecraft.