There’s no “elephant in the room”. NASA and everyone involved in sending astronauts to space already knew about this problem decades ago. They not only have recognized the elephant, but they’ve also figured out the species, and documented their DNA sample.
The simple answer is “don’t know”. Astronauts who spent months on the ISS at zero-g can’t immediately function once they got back. It follows that Mars-bound astronauts that must at least experience zero-g for months will similarly be powerless once they land even in the reduced gravity of Mars. But unlike Earth, there’s no recovery crew on Mars to help them get out.
There are various proposals ranging from prepositioning special machines to limited (and temporary) genetic engineering to limit the impact of high radiation and low gravity. Regardless which one will be chosen, a human mission to Mars is still far away.