The POTUS is determined to see Americans walk on Mars during his presidency, but the reality of space travel is a little more complicated.
Colonising Mars is an honorable goal, one that's getting the attention of the most brilliant minds humanity has to offer. But there is one problem, our bodies aren't really up to the task. Whether its radiation, our annoying tendency to need oxygen, or tons of other things that could kill you in that deep dark, the human body while admirably resilient on Earth is much, much more fragile once it escapes the comforting embrace of our planet's atmosphere. This TED video breaks down how humans have naturally developed superhuman-like abilities thanks to thousands of years of evolution and natural mutation, but could scientific techniques like gene editing or microbial engineering help slim down that lengthy process to just one generation? The short answer is yes. The longer one? Well...it's complicated. Source: TED-Ed