Source: Information Week

Despite a budget crunch and an uncertain political environment, NASA is pushing ahead with numerous launches and plans for ongoing missions in 2013, the space agency said in a series of announcements over the last few weeks.

In the next year, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover will continue its drive toward a mound known as Mount Sharp, and the space agency will send expeditions to the International Space Station, update its space communications network, gather information about the lunar surface, and work on a mission to the Martian atmosphere, among other efforts.

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As for launches, NASA will begin the new year with a test flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, followed shortly thereafter by the launch of part of a series of next-generation communication satellites. Another Antares test is scheduled in April.

NASA's launches will continue throughout the year. In February, the agency will launch a new satellite for the long-running Landsat program, which provides imagery for wide-ranging uses. Manned and unmanned missions to the International Space Station are scheduled several times throughout the year.

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