Atmosphere shards creates an invisible bubble that contains oxygen and recycles air. Often formed around entire ships allowing its crew to exit the ship and walk around on the upper deck or tie themselves to the ship while making external repairs. Similarly, novaborn have a natural ability to survive in space for short periods of time.
However, the atmosphere shard cannot last forever without an energy shard. A ship must return to a habitable planet to recharge its energy shard.
Update: Two lore posts this month and it’s a little out of order. My computer broke last month and I lost all the shard art I’d made, but luckily I’d sent some of the art to Stephen for feedback. But I’ll have to start over on the others. Thanks for your patience! – Brittany