The medical center previously conducted a test with bacteria in simulated space conditions, which showed a reduced ability to develop antibiotic resistance, but the latest experiment is the first one to take place at the ISS.

An international crew of four astronauts launched toward the International Space Station from Florida on Friday aboard a SpaceX rocket, embarking on a routine NASA mission that could be the first of many to last a couple months longer than usual.

Crew-11 will send NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with Kimiya Yui of JAXA (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov to the ISS for a roughly six-month stay. Cardman is the mission's commander, Fincke is the pilot and Yui and Platonov are mission specialists.