Nasa scientists are developing equipment for deep space travel that mimics living organisms and copies Mother Nature.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Nasa's chief scientist, Katy Olsen, said the space agency was developing systems for spacecraft that can think for themselves and carry out their own repairs.

One project to begin next month is to create an enhanced human immune system.

The $20m programme aims to develop tiny sensors in space suits that will be able to detect when an astronaut is beginning to fall ill, and then automatically administer the appropriate treatments.

Shaping planets

There are also plans to develop deep-space probes that can think for themselves - Nasa already has a probe that is able to override instructions that it feels would damage it or endanger the mission.

And in the far future, scientists suggest that it might be possible to genetically-engineer trees that would be able to survive on Mars.

These would form a protective sheath around themselves, effectively growing their own greenhouse.

While forests on the Martian surface may still be a dream, many here believe that the current rapid advances in biology will make travelling and living in space much easier.