Astrophysics

Unlike most other research, astrophysics serves two distinct purposes:

The ability to colonize more planets, and to launch more expeditions simultaneously.

Each odd level (1, 3, 5, 7, …) enables a new colony,

Each square level (1, 4, 9, 16, …) enables another simultaneous Expedition.

Since only every second level enables a new Colony, it makes the most sense to always research two levels in succession.

Planet positions

With a few special astrophysics levels, it is possible to colonize more distant planet positions from the center of the system.

At certain special astrophysics levels, it is possible to conduct more expeditions.

Level	Possible number of Expeditions
0	0
1	1
4	2
9	3
16	4
25	5

Resource	Construction Costs
Resource	Level X	Total costs up to Level X (from Level 0)
Metal	100 * ROUND DOWN ( 0.5 + 40 * ( 1.75 ^(X-1) ) )	16,000 / 3 * ( 1.75 ^(X-1) )
Crystal	100 * ROUND DOWN ( 0.5 + 80 * ( 1.75 ^(X-1) ) )	32,000 / 3 * ( 1.75 ^(X-1) )
Deuterium	100 * ROUND DOWN ( 0.5 + 40 * ( 1.75 ^(X-1) ) )	16,000 / 3 * ( 1.75 ^(X-1) )