United States government agencies say the first tests of a very small nuclear power system designed for missions to Mars have been successful. The American space agency NASA and the Department of Energy recently announced the results in Las Vegas, Nevada. The officials said they will carry out a full test of the system in March. The project to design a small nuclear fission system is called Kilopower. Testing began last November at the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site. The goal is to provide energy for future missions in space and possibly on the surface of Mars and other planets in our solar system. NASA astronauts visited the surface of Earth’s moon six times between 1969 and 1972. But establishing a long-term colony on the surface of the moon or another planet is more difficult.