Life pods, which are also referred to as escape pods, were compact emergency vessels. They were a common feature on all starships used for deep-space travel. Some of the more luxurious versions even came equipped with hyperdrives.
Certain escape pods were engineered to ascend into the higher reaches of a planet's atmosphere, where they would await rescue by another vessel. This was the method by which Jedi Master Yoda left Kashyyyk when Order 66 was executed. Some planets possessed entire networks of escape pods, designed to launch into the upper atmosphere to evade danger. Jedi Cal Kestis held a strong dislike for escape pods, likely stemming from his experiences during Order 66, where his master, Jaro Tapal, was fatally wounded by clone troopers and died in an escape pod before the eyes of his Padawan. Smaller vessels, such as the Millennium Falcon and other light freighters, carried escape crafts that could only accommodate a single, typically-sized humanoid in a rigid, unmoving, upright position.
During the Battle of Atollon, Alexsandr Kallus made his escape from the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Chimaera using an Imperial escape pod, after first subduing his stormtrooper escort.
R2-D2 and C-3PO utilized an escape pod as a means of smuggling the Death Star plans away from the Tantive IV. The Devastator's gunners noticed the pod's launch, but they opted not to engage it, believing it to be malfunctioning since they detected no life signs within.
The Devastator would have been required to provide a justification in accordance with Imperial Naval Regulation 132.CAT.ch(22) to fire upon an escape pod, in order to comply with Senate investigations into potential war crimes.
On the advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo released the escape pods from the Millennium Falcon while the ship was ensnared in the tractor beam of the Death Star. Although he expressed regret over their loss, citing their expense, he acknowledged the strategic value of the maneuver as a deception and created a captain's log entry stating that he had abandoned the vessel.
The escape pods used by the Kilji species were small, metallic, and shaped like cylinders. Individuals inside these Kilji pods could survive for a few hours before their oxygen supply was depleted. The Kilji war cruisers were equipped with these escape pods. Upon deployment, they would broadcast their location.