worldship
Civilization-carrying starship
A worldship is a hypothetical spacecraft large enough to sustain a self-contained civilization across interstellar distances—essentially a mobile habitat for generations of travelers.
Unlike faster vessels in science fiction, worldships accept journey times of centuries or millennia: The colonists' descendants would arrive at the new star system, not the colonists themselves.
The concept appears in speculative fiction and serious proposals for human expansion beyond the solar system.
Interconnected organisms and surroundings
- biosphereAll life on Earth
- hydroponicsPlant cultivation in nutrient water
- agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
- oxygenElement eight, colorless gas
recycling · population · settlement · self-sustaining · artificial gravity · dome · terrarium · closed-loop
Large rescue vessel
- starshipFictional interstellar vessel
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- hullOuter covering or frame
- propulsionForce driving movement forward
life support · crew · passengers · cargo · destination · interstellar · voyage · spacecraft
Vishnu's seventh incarnation
- WALL-ETrash-cubing automaton
- ElysiumGreek afterlife for heroes
- RingworldStellar-orbiting cylindrical habitat
- OrionCelestial hunter figure
Battlestar Galactica · Heinlein · Clarke · Asimov · space opera · diaspora · exodus · fiction
Advanced organized human society
- governanceHow authority is exercised
- generationsPeople born around same time
- cultureCollective social practices
- communityCollective of connected people
hierarchy · caste · law · tradition · isolation · descendants · legacy · founders
ecosystem
Interconnected organisms and surroundings
- biosphereAll life on Earth
- hydroponicsPlant cultivation in nutrient water
- agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
oxygen · recycling · population · settlement · self-sustaining · artificial gravity · dome · terrarium · closed-loop · biodome
ark
Large rescue vessel
- starshipFictional interstellar vessel
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- hullOuter covering or frame
propulsion · life support · crew · passengers · cargo · destination · interstellar · voyage · spacecraft · mothership
Rama
Vishnu's seventh incarnation
- WALL-ETrash-cubing automaton
- ElysiumGreek afterlife for heroes
- RingworldStellar-orbiting cylindrical habitat
Battlestar Galactica · Orion · Heinlein · Clarke · Asimov · space opera · diaspora · exodus · fiction · speculation
civilization
Advanced organized human society
- governanceHow authority is exercised
- generationsPeople born around same time
- cultureCollective social practices
community · hierarchy · caste · law · tradition · isolation · descendants · legacy · founders · elders
worldshipshuttle
Short-distance transport
escape pod · space shuttle · lifeboat · capsule · runabout
worldshipplanet
Star-orbiting spherical body
homeworld · space station · domed city · settlement · moon base
world, ship, worlds, ships, worldly, unworldly, worldliness, otherworldly, shipped