A Deep-Space Self-Sustaining Vehicle Design Based on Full Energy-Matter Recycling — A Ship That Lives in the Universe

This paper presents a complete design concept for a novel deep-space vehicle, the"Root Ark." Unlike traditional spacecraft that rely on carrying fuel and passiveprotection, the core design philosophy of the Root Ark is to transform all "damage" inthe cosmic environment into survival resources: high-energy radiation is converted intoelectrical energy, micrometeoroid impacts are captured and reorganized into structuralmaterials, extreme temperature differences are utilized for thermoelectric cycles, wasteheat is recycled and reused, and every external impact becomes part of its own growth.The Root Ark is not a "means of transportation" but a living system capable of self-circulation, self-cleaning, self-growth, and self-absorption in the universe. It does notsurvive by "carrying enough supplies" but by continuously obtaining energy and matterfrom the environment; it does not endure damage through "thick armor" but by turningevery impact, radiation, and temperature difference into part of itself; it does notmaintain functionality through "regular repairs" but grows, repairs, and cleans itselfthrough a whole-body distributed metabolic system.This paper presents the four-layer system design of the Root Ark—the Shell System(three-layer composite functional skin), the Circulatory System (liquid metal energy-matter integrated blood), the Structural System (reconfigurable lattice skeleton), and theControl System (decentralized distributed metabolic regulation)—and demonstrates thefeasibility of each subsystem. All subsystems have existing technological foundations orare expected within 3-5 years, with the real engineering challenge lying in the systemintegration.The design of the Root Ark marks a paradigm shift in human deep-space explorationfrom "confronting the environment" to "symbiosis with the environment." It does nottake humanity farther; it enables humanity to survive in the universe—for decades,centuries, millennia, as long as the universe exists, it can live.