Space bodies

## Introduction

Celestial Bodies are bundles or rock, gas and minerals of different sizes and composition found throughout the Solar System. They are the primary targets of the industrialization of space and the locations where the vast majority of human and alien infraestrusture is constructed (Lagrange points being the exception).

## Planet types and compositions

There are four categories of celestial bodies, discounting the Sun: Planets, dwarf planets, natural satelites and asteroids. There are 1 to 16 locations on space bodies, where ground habs can be built. Some satellites are considered asteroids while others, such as large moons, are more similar to dwarf planets and indicated as planetary satellites in the game.

Asteroid bodies can have varying composition in the game, while the particular resources one can extract from them are unique to each individual body and can differ drastically between playthroughs.

## Ground sites and Orbits

All orbital bodies except for the Gas Giants and Venus have at least 1 site that allows ground habitation. As of the demo:

Asteroids and Satellite Asteroids are the most restrictive type of body and have 1 building slot each, while dwarf planets also get 1 with the exception of Ceres, which has 4. Planetary satellites' site numbers can go up to 16 (Ganymede, Callisto and Titan), while the Moon has 9 available spots. Mars has a total of 16 ground sites while Mercury supports 8.

In term of orbits, the situation is more varied. Low and High orbits are found on most bodies (some asteroids have "parking orbits" instead), but larger planets and even the gas giants support additional orbits of their own, some of the other common namings are: Inclined, Medium, Intermediate, Extreme and Synchronous; but the altitude, graviational pull, the number of possible stations in the orbit and possible hazards are unique to each and every one of them for every body (though station number caps are typically 1 for asteroids and inclined orbits, 4 for dwarf planets and some moons, and 8 for the rest).

Most (if not all) low orbits have the interface option with the respective body, which allows several interactions and buff generation on inhabited bodies through the use of the habitats mechanic and its construction. Finally, two exclusive orbits are found in the game, corresponding to those of the International Space Station and Tiangong Station around Earth. Only 1 station can orbit those configurations at a time, and they are also considered interface orbits, they effectively correspond to inclined low orbits.

## Resources and body utility

All space resources are found in these bodies (Water, Volatiles, Base Metals, Noble Metals and Fissiles) though their abundance and distribution depend on dicerolls cast during world generation. Regardless, some celestial bodies can be always far more valuable than others in terms of resource placements and utility, several indicators found on the demo have been developed below as a guide for early player expansion:

- **The Moon**: Luna is typically the first target of the expansion game together with Mars by tech tree necessity. Resources are extraordinarily scarce, but the importance of the moon lies on two phases: In the early game, the little resources one can get may be crucial to stablish multiple outposts further away from Earth without paying an outrageous amount of boost. Further in the game, ship construction and maneouvering away from the interference of Earth can be particularly useful on the moon. All of this said, water is typically useless, as the requirements of keeping a single station or a ground base may already overcome lunar mining production depending on the dice roll.

-**Mars**: A crucial tech point and the first world that may grant significant resource income. Its colonization is a necessity for resources and pivoting beyond the Inner Planets of the Solar System. In addition to this, the moons of Phobos and Deimos have the same advantages in maneouvering as Luna, with the added bonus of (perhaps) decent water and volatile deposits.

- **Asteroid (Main) Belt**: Good expansion opportunities with Ceres being the jackpot of the Belt. The most scarce resource may be fissiles, as it is completely absent in the majority of asteroids and bad dice rolls could make them very scarce.

After the expansion of the belt, the resource levels on significant bodies remain constant on the system. Jupiter and Saturn's moons are of special value because the main planetary satellites may have the same or better resources than Mars and Ceres individually. Once the Belt is reached however, the remaining mining and strategic options are due on pure expansion and goal achievement rather than early game strategy to acess decent resources in the first place.