China has repeatedly stunned the U.S. intelligence community in the last five years with rapid progress in its space exploration program, landing a rover on the far side of the moon and completing its very own space station orbiting Earth.
Their advances have established that a new space race is on between Washington and Beijing—this time with the ultimate goal of sending a crewed mission to Mars, each vying to be the first to land humans on another planet.
America's success may come down to a team of scientists based out of Idaho Falls.
Engineers at the Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory are leading a nationwide team of scientists to enhance the capabilities of nuclear thermal propulsion, a technology that NASA hopes will cut the travel time to Mars by half.
It is an ambitious project that could transform the future of human space travel.
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