Resources

*For the resource Credits, please go to the page: Credits

There are a number of useful, raw resources that can be discovered on 'off-world' planets and moons, such as iron, silicon, and gold. These raw resources can be processed in the Workshop and used to upgrade the Outpost, or transported back to Earth and sold in the market.

All 'off-world' surfaces are covered in rocks (stones). Samples of these rocks can be collected immediately upon landing, without the need for scanning the surface, and can be transported back to Earth for sale in the market. Rock values vary according to their distance from Earth. The supply of rocks never runs out, and can be collected quite efficiently (each action costs 1 life support and takes 2 minutes, producing between 1 and 3 samples, without any need for a vehicle), but the value of samples from a particular world decreases with each unit sold from that world, to a minimum of 10 credits. So be sure to explore new moons and planets to keep the cashflow from this most basic resource flowing. (Note that even at 10 credits each, stone samples can still be profitable with a highly cost-efficient Lander such as a Dragon, and are better than carrying nothing, but collecting them can be tedious.) 

All other 'off-world' resources will need to be located before they can be collected. You do this by first establishing an Outpost on the surface. This building unlocks many new options, including: 

• Scan for resources and points of interest (limited by radar range, only one scan at a time)
• Explore the surface on foot / in a vehicle (limited by vehicle range, uses life support)

These tasks send your Astronauts (or Workers) to hunt for resources.

Once the scan is complete, go down a tab and you will see the newly discovered resources listed on screen. You can now harvest these resources on foot, or with a vehicle. Harvesting missions will cost different amounts of time and life support, depending on the type of vehicle, the distance to the resource, and the type of driver (Astronauts are more efficient than Workers). Once collected, the worker will return to the outpost and place the resources into the cargo space.

Once a discovered resource site is depleted, simply scan or explore again to discover more. You may need to perform these tasks multiple times to discover the specific resource you are looking for. Note that it is eventually possible to explore the entire surface of a body, particularly with small moons like Deimos; further scanning will then be disabled.

You can also obtain resources by sending your workers on expeditions. The resource yield from an expedition is relatively small compared to the time taken, and random, but is not limited by surface scans (and expeditions provide other benefits).

On planets and larger moons, scanning the surface may also discover mining sites. Developing these sites requires you to research and build the Planetary Operations building, spend resources on unlocking the site, and assign workers to extract the resources, before sending vehicles to collect the resources in the same way as surface deposits. However, the total amount of resources in a mining site can be far greater than in a surface deposit, often thousands.

Raw Resources

• Stones
• Iron Ore (Fe)
• Titanium Ore (Ti)
• Carbon (C)
• Silicates (Si)
• Water (H2O)
• Gold (Au)
• Uranium (U) (Currently disabled)
• Hellium (He) (Currently disabled)

Chances to find resources

When scanning for new resources, there are set chances for each resource type to be discovered. These chances are different depending on the location which is being scanned.

Name	Water	Carbon	Iron	Titanium	Gold	Silicates	Uranium	Helium
Moon	40	35	70	35	15	20	5	7
Mars	40	45	60	30	15	20	5	7
Phobos	50	45	50	30	15	20	5	7
Deimos	40	50	40	20	5	50	5	7
Amalthea	60	45	60	30	15	20	5	7
Metis	40	45	60	30	15	20	5	7
Thebe	40	45	60	30	15	20	5	7
Lysithea	40	45	60	30	15	20	5	7
Himalia	40	45	60	30	15	20	5	7
Io	20	30	45	20	10	60	5	7
Europa	40	45	60	30	15	20	5	7
Ganymede	80	30	32	14	1	60	5	7
Callisto	60	50	40	20	5	40	5	7
Janus	80	45	50	25	15	15	5	7
Epimetheus	85	45	50	25	15	30	5	7
Mimas	75	45	50	25	15	15	5	7
Enceladus	83	45	50	25	15	15	5	7
Tethys	92	45	50	25	15	15	5	7
Dione	82	45	50	25	15	15	5	7
Rhea	93	35	50	25	15	35	5	7
Titan	78	31	50	25	15	32	5	7
Hyperion	75	40	50	25	15	19	5	7
Iapetus	70	45	62	34	22	15	5	7