Ideas

There will be rockets going off all over the place this year. In November both India and the US will be aiming for Mars. The Indian Space Research Organisation follows on from its successful lunar probe by launching the Mangalyaan Mars orbiter. 

At the same time NASA will be sending its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) to explore the red planet's upper atmosphere. NASA also launches a lunar orbiter this year. 

Meanwhile China continues its progress towards a permanent manned space station with the launch of Tiangong-2, a space lab to replace the earlier prototype module Tiangong-1. It also plans to land a rover on the Moon this year, ending a 37-year gap in exploration of the moon's surface since the Soviet Union landed its Luna 24 probe back in 1976.

And in another dimension entirely, everyone's favourite Time Lord, Doctor Who, celebrates his 50th anniversary this year. That's good news for fans, for merchandise manufacturers and of course for all those actors who played minor roles over the last five decades and who can now give free rein to their reminiscences. 

More on the year ahead:

Big in 2013: 3D printing

Europe in 2013

Economic forecasting: what are the predictions for 2013?

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