Headlines proclaiming the rise of a new "space race" between the U.S. and China have become common in news coverage following many of the exciting launches in recent years. Experts have pointed to China's rapid advancements in space as evidence of an emerging landscape where China is directly competing with the U.S. for supremacy.

This idea of a space race between China and the U.S. sounds convincing given the broader narrative of China's rise, but how accurate is it? As a professor who studies space and international relations, my research aims to quantify the power and capabilities of different nations in space. When I look at various capacities, the data paints a much more complex picture than a tight space race between the U.S.

Somewhere in a remote stretch of forest near Maine's border with Canada, rocks from space crashed to Earth and may be scattered across the ground—just waiting to be picked up.

If you're the first to find a really big one, a museum says it'll pay out a $25,000 reward.

The unusually bright fireball could be seen in broad daylight around noon Saturday, said Darryl Pitt, chair of the meteorite division at the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel.

NASA said the meteorite fall was observed on radar—a first for Maine—and witnesses heard sonic booms.

The museum wants to add to its collection of moon and Mars rocks, Pitt said, so the first meteorite hunters to deliver a 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) specimen will claim the $25,000 prize.

According to Pitt, the fact that radar detected the fiery descent assures the meteorites can be found on the ground.

"With more people having an awareness, the more people will look—and the greater the likelihood of a recovery," Pitt said Wednesday.

Still, there's no guarantee there are any meteorites big enough to claim the payout.