Star Trek Discovery Season 3: Everything You Need To Know
12. Spore Drive
The USS Discovery is a science vessel capable of taking on numerous missions simultaneously. However, her main purpose is to test a new form of faster-than-light propulsion: The spore drive.
The spore drive is a device that allows the Discovery to jump from point to point in the universe, faster than Star Trek’s traditional mode of FTL travel, warp drive. The mechanics aren’t important, you just need to know that the spore drive uses mushrooms to traverse the galaxy, because... science.
Because Discovery is the only starship with a spore drive, she's one of Starfleet's most valuable assets. But while the technology is initially presented as promising in Star Trek: Discovery's freshman season, it's revealed to be both risky and impractical, leading to its use only in cases of extreme urgency or plot necessity.