 Image: SpaceX/Flickr 
 
 On Saturday, February 18th, a SpaceX Dragon capsule will shuttle a superbug into space that kills more Americans each year than emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s Disease, and homicide combined: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as MRSA. Advertisement 
 
 “Microgravity may accelerate the rate of bacterial mutations,” Dr. Anita Goel of Nanobiosym, who’s leading the study, told Space.com.
– NASA and a biomedicine company are sending a drug-resistant superbug into outer space, where it will be researched aboard the International Space Station. And while Gizmodo notes the plan sounds like "Elon Musk's idea for a science fiction spec he's working on," it will—hopefully—have actual scientific benefits. Dr. Anita Goel tells CNN she believes MRSA—aka staph—will mutate more quickly in zero gravity. This could allow researchers to see future forms of MRSA and develop antibiotics to fight them before they happen. And that would be great news, as MRSA currently kills more people in the US every year than HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's, emphysema, and homicide combined. The well-contained MRSA sample will be hitching a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching Saturday in Florida.