Prestige resets your score and upgrades, but gives you a permanent multiplier boost. Or you could spend that multiplier on other upgrades that may or may not be worth it.
Explore the Wilderness to discover shards and multipliers. Costs 100 Transcend Shards to unlock.
The Wilderness offers exponential rewards that grow as you explore deeper. You can find building materials for your spaceship, special wilderness shards, and permanent multiplier boosts.