NASA says it can only beat China to Mars if they build nuclear-powered rockets

"Our strategic competitors, including China, are indeed aggressively investing in a wide range of space technologies, including nuclear power and propulsion to fulfil their ambitions for sustained human lunar presence, as well as Martian and deep space science missions," NASA senior adviser for Budget and Finance Bhavya Lal said at the subcommittee meeting, adding that the "United States needs to move at a fast pace to stay competitive and to remain a leader in the global space community." This all comes on the heels of China allegedly testing a that took US officials by surprise. However, Beijing was quick to…