If elephants were astronauts, colonising Mars would be more feasible. They may be rather more expensive to propel to escape velocity, but crucially they are also far less likely to get cancer on the six-month journey to the Red Planet.
A scientist is trying to harness the elephant’s apparent lack of susceptibility to radiation and alter human genes to better weather the rigours of space.
There are many difficulties that need to be surmounted before humans can set foot on Mars, but one of the biggest is a biological one. During the months of travelling, astronauts will inevitably be exposed to cosmic radiation. Doctors believe that the amount received by Apollo astronauts may have been enough to shorten their lives — and they were only