NASA's Mars Odyssey reached a major milestone Friday - the end of repeatedly dipping into the Martian atmosphere to slow down. The probe is now ready to begin its science mapping mission in late February.

Odyssey completed weeks of delicate "aerobraking" maneuvers -- skimming through the upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere -- 332 times since its arrival at Mars.

The craft was launched on April 7, 2001, crossing interplanetary space to reach Mars on October 23, 2001.

The closest point in Odyssey's orbit, called the periapsis, is now 125 miles (201 kilometers) above the surface of the Red Planet. The farthest point in the orbit, labeled the apoapsis, is at an altitude of 311 miles (500 kilometers).

Over the next few weeks, Odyssey's operators will refine the spacecraft's orbit until it reaches its final mapping altitude - a 249-mile (400-kilometer) circular orbit. During that time, the probe will be reconfigured to start the science mapping mission.

"The successful completion of the aerobraking phase is a major milestone for the project. Aerobraking is the most complex phase of the entire mission and the team came through it without a hitch," said David A. Spencer, Odyssey's mission manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.