View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/could-we-survive-prolonged-space-travel-lisa-nip

Prolonged space travel plays a severe toll on the human body: microgravity impairs muscle and bone growth, and high doses of radiation cause irreversible mutations. As we seriously consider the human species becoming space-faring, a big question stands: even if we do break free from Earth’s orbit, can we adapt to the extreme environments of space? Lisa Nip examines our odds.

Lesson by Lisa Nip, animation by Bassam Kurdali.