I just found out that the Newbie Nice feature wasn't working in the game. It has been fixed. If you are killed without an escape pod you will be cloned into a new pioneer.
For this to happen your ships tech levels all have to be below the Newbie Nice tech level settings (currently tech level
and you cannot have used more than the starting number of turns (currently 6000 turns). If your ships tech levels are below 8 and you have used less than 6000 turns you can be resurrected if you are killed without an escape pod. The drawback is any planets or money you may have collected will be gone as you are starting all over again. So be careful.