NASA probe flies out of Mars atmosphere

Artist's concept of Mars Odyssey

By Richard Stenger
CNN Sci-Tech

(CNN) -- After completing complex braking maneuvers in the atmosphere of Mars, a new NASA probe has begun to raise its orbit to prepare for its scientific mission, according to NASA flight managers.

The Mars Odyssey should initiate planetary studies in February, mapping surface chemicals, looking for water and analyzing radiation levels.

Flight controllers for the Mars Odyssey spacecraft sent commands several days ago to raise the spacecraft up out of the atmosphere.

The orbiter fired thrusters for four minutes, prompting a course change that raised its orbit 53 miles (85 kilometers), according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"Everything went as planned, and the spacecraft is in the place we expect it to be," Jet Propulsion Laboratory spokeswoman Mary Hardin said Monday.

Arriving in October after a seven-month trip, the craft used atmospheric drag to slow itself down and change course, a risky procedure that nonetheless saved a considerable amount of precious rocket fuel.

RESOURCES Mars Interactive: How Odyssey works

The $300-million, 1.7-ton probe is the first to visit Mars since two NASA vessels disappeared near the red planet in late 1999.

Odyssey orbits Mars in a highly elliptical path. The farthest point is at an altitude of 311 miles (500 kilometers). The lowest is 125 miles (201 kilometers) above the surface.

"Aerobraking is the most complex phase of the entire mission, and the team came through it without a hitch," Odyssey mission manager David A. Spencer said in a statement. "During the next month, we will be reconfiguring the spacecraft to begin the science mapping mission."

The task ahead for mission engineers will be to guide the spacecraft to a circular orbit 249 miles (400 kilometers) high, where it can begin scientific studies in February.

The observations could help NASA in the search for evidence of past or present life and in the plans for human visits to the planet.