need a hand with a plot element

something to consider is what is the condition of earth at the time
the ship is built. if its getting more and more crowded and is having
trouble sustaining life, the trip might be the only way for ppl to
have a better life with more room.

one thing you could do is have a certain size crew with a larger size
group of settlers. the crew family might be 50 to 80 couples to begin
with, and they would maintain that to a large extent. during the trip
to the stars they could look for exchanges between them and the
settlers to keep their gene pool from being to stagnate. once they
arrive, they would transport the settlers (possible conflict here) to
the surface, then return for more. the settlers would number at least
10000 to begin with. they would likely have room for expansion in the
trip, with supplies being regenerated on the trip back to earth.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "janet_baker76"
wrote:
>
> Hi, Settlers,
>
> Would you give me a hand with something I need in a story? First,
> what would you call rather small communities, designed to hold
several
> generations of a family or several families, which are a cross
between
> space colonies and space ships insofar as they are intended to
venture
> into deep space over a long period of time?
>
> And second, what would be a plausible economic mission of such a
> ship/dwelling? In other words, what do we need in deep space that
we