You can also expect new deep space encounters, new lifeforms and "mysterious objects." There will be some appreciable variety even if you don't care for the update's main hook, then.

The Living Ship update reflects a recent change in strategy for NMS that has seen Hello focus more on smaller but more frequent updates instead of monolithic packs (like Next and Beyond) that leave people with the same material for several months or more. Arguably, the studio can afford to put out these more modest expansions. NMS is in much better shape in the Beyond era than it was before, and it's now more a question of refinement than taking care of any glaring omissions.