Planets

**Planets** are a defining feature of many star systems. They are crucial to the journey as the local resources can be harvested for metals, minerals and gas. Other discoveries can also be made at crash sites or other locations of intrigue.

Planets visually indicate a number of their properties which the player can notice without their scanner, if it is malfunctioning.

## Mission Forecast

The ship's scanners will automatically predict the danger (or lack thereof) of a planet by assessing its characteristics. This feature will not function if the scanner module is damaged.

If the forecast is green or pink, this indicates that there is an infestation on the surface, typically caused by the Mizzurani, and that there is a risk of infestation to crew members.

##### Harmless

There are no natural dangers for landing on this planet. Command of basic lander controls are enough to land on and depart from this planet safely.

##### Low Risk

The planet presents minor natural dangers that can be overcome with little lander experience and are more than worth it to scavenge for resources or reach other destinations.

##### High Risk

Landing here poses major dangers to lander and pilot. Upgrades to the lander and selection of a capable lander pilot such as Malcolm Winters is advised.

##### Deadly

The most serious forecast. Even with upgrades and much player experience, landing presents an extreme danger to the lander and the pilot. It is very possible that any attempt would result in a dead crew member and a destroyed lander.

**Note:** This forecast is designed to give newer players that do not know or understand what features do or do not make a planet dangerous a perspective on mission outcomes. Some features are over- and some undervalued and therefore an experienced player will always assess a planet manually. For example, the game rates many planets as very dangerous if they have strong convection, even though convection is, in of itself, not very much a threat. On the other end the system doesn't take into account lander malfunctions: An extreme gravity planet may be absolutely impossible to escape from with reduced thruster reliability. While the label "Deadly" is used for many planets, this scenario is far more deadly than any of them.

## Planet Types

Planet types can be identified from their appearance or by the color of their dot on the star system map.

##### Liquid

 Earth is a liquid planet. Large bodies of liquid cover the surface with a few islands. Metals and minerals can be found on these bodies, and gases infrequently. Resources may be located under the liquid surface. Because the lander is buoyant, reversing thrusters constantly may be necessary to hold position on ocean floors to reach them.

##### Ice

 Ice worlds are usually planets very far away from their star and always covered with frozen surfaces and occasionally some bodies of liquid. The surface is slippery, providing only very little grip. They often have minerals. Navigating these planets often requires the use of reverse thrusters to maintain position on a spot, either because of a sloped surface or because of convection. Trying to harvest resources from these planets with compromised thruster reliability may be futile under some circumstances.

##### Molten

These hot worlds, either due to proximity to their local star, volcanism, atmosphere or a combination of thesehave excessive heat. This will cause lander damage and burns to the pilot if exposed to for too long. Molten planets tend to host rare metals and sometimes gases, however they are often not worth the risk unless the lander heat shield is installed.

##### Rock

 Such a world can have any combination of metals, minerals or gases.

##### Gas

 Gas planets are special in that they have no surface to land on. Gases are the only resources that can be harvested from these planets. Gas layers slow down and damage the lander, while the space in between is safe. Going too low, ie. closer towards the center of the planet, will increase hull pressure which may damage or destroy the lander. Bigger gas planets often have rarer gases but automatically also feature a high gravity and sometimes enormous heat - due to how slow it is to get around in a gas giant the landing missions on these planets usually take very long and are therefore particularly susceptible to heat damage to lander hull (especially since navigating the gas layers already damages the lander).

## Gravity

Gravity is the force which attracts the player's vessel to different celestial bodies. The strength of this force varies with proximity. The larger or more massive the planet or star, the more the strength of gravity pulls, and this will be represented with the space-time grid in the background of the Vessel navigation screen. To a limited extent, the player can take advantage of gravitational forces to reduce how much fuel they use in maneuvering between different locations in a star system. When landing, gravity determines how quickly their vessel will accelerate towards the surface.

Under most gravity conditions, a lander can always return to orbit with 4% fuel remaining without running out.

In general, a bigger planet will have stronger gravity. Without scanners, a planet's gravity can be estimated by estimating the planet's size, which can be seen from space or by looking at the size of the dot on the map.

##### Very Low

Approximately 0.1g or less. Comparable to a small dwarf planet or other minor space object. Downward motion can be entirely arrested with a very brief thrust burst. Descent naturally will be slow, and reaching the surface faster is possible by using the reverse thrusters on the lander. Can be challenging to land on if the planet has strong convection, since the effect of convection is stronger when the lander acts less inert.

##### Low

Comparable to Earth's moon or a dwarf planet. Approximately 0.25g to 0.1g. To reach the surface faster, thrusting downwards can be used.

##### Average

Comparable to Earth with some variation. Approximately 1.0g. Longer upward thrusts are required to stop falling. Not controlling for the significant downward acceleration may result in devastating impacts, causing hull damage, lander malfunctions and severe injuries like broken bones. If you are flying a lander on a High, Very High or Extreme Gravity planet with the Antigrav Generator installed then this is the gravity you will encounter.

##### High

Much more gravity than Earth, anywhere from 2.0 to 5.0g. Insufficient upward thrust can cause the lander to hit the ground hard. Landing entry always starts with some horizontal and vertical velocity. Strong gravity worlds require most or all lander thrust to cancel out initial vertical velocity to prevent a ground collision. Use the game screen's wrap-around effect to cancel out the horizontal velocity and save fuel. Starting with this gravity level, some unfortunate collisions with high-reaching structures like ruins or cities may be unavoidable.

##### Very High

Gravity comparable to a massive gas giant. Constant upward thrust is necessary to prevent hard landing or collisions with the surface. Very strong gravity worlds require all default lander thrust to cancel out initial vertical velocity to prevent a ground collision. On planets with this gravity levels it does not need high reaching structures to create unavoidable collisions, sometimes tall mountains may be enough. High gravity planets make an escape very difficult and slow down traversal on the planet as more thrust is required to downwards (instead of sideways) to cancel gravitational momentum. Hazards that require agility (lightning) or general speed (heat) can be overwhelmingly dangerous on these planets. Starting with this gravity level, escaping from a high gravity level may be impossible if thruster reliability is compromised, leading to the loss of the lander and potentially crew.

##### Extreme

Gravity comparable to a massive gas giant. Very strong gravity worlds require all default lander thrust to minimize the impact damage that is very often unavoidable. Navigating these planets is not just slow but also fuel-expensive as most of the thrust is needed to maintain height and letting go of thrust for even just a moment can make the lander crash into the ground.

## Convection

Convection refers to wind or atmospheric turbulence. Wind may change direction at any time, and is always parallel to the surface. When the wind changes there might be a few seconds without wind at all that can be used to maneuver the lander to the desired spot on the planet. The convection is stronger on the planet surface than in higher layers of the atmosphere.

##### None

No forces in any direction means the lander will behave according to pure newtonian motion, like in the video game Lunar Lander.

##### Light

Weak convection will push the lander marginally and make falling slightly unpredictable. They can cause the lander to move on downhill surfaces.

##### Moderate

Wind-like forces at this level are fairly comparable to gravity, and may cause the lander to slide quite far or roll if the lander is sitting on a downhill surface. Moderate winds are stronger than weak gravity. Moderate and stronger convection can make it difficult or impossible to maintain position on an ice planet. Functioning reverse thrusters may be needed for harvesting resources.

##### Strong

Strong convection makes it difficult to get the lander in a resting position. Thrusting down might be necessary.

##### Violent

Violent convection makes it very difficult to get the lander in a resting position. Thrusting down is necessary.

## Temperature

The temperature of a planet can be anticipated, even without scanners, by considering some of their properties. Ice planets will generally have subarctic and arctic conditions, liquid planets tend to have temperate or tropical conditions, molten planets are searing or infernal temperatures while rock and gas planets may have anything between the highest and lowest temperatures. Also, in general more massive planets with stronger gravity also tend to be hotter.

##### Subarctic

This world is colder than what can be found on Earth.

##### Arctic

Arctic means temperature is cold, comparable to frozen regions of Earth. There is no risk to a crew member or the lander receiving damage from heat.

##### Temperate

Temperatures comparable to Earth or otherwise fairly tolerable to humans.

##### Tropical

Moderate temperatures comparable to the tropical regions of Earth. There is no risk to a crew member or the lander receiving damage from heat.

##### Searing

The temperature is high and damages the lander. The pilot can get burns on searing planets. The temperature typically occurs on molten planets, or gas or rock planets, which are close to the sun. The lander was not designed for this heat and *will* sustain major damages if the length of the expedition is not adapted.

##### Inferno

The temperature is very high and damage to the lander will be significant, even on short landing missions. The pilot can get burns on inferno planets. The temperature typically occurs on molten planets.

## Atmosphere

Atmosphere does not seem to affect landing or surface operations. It may have a multiplying effect on temperature or convection when it is thick.

## Hazards

Planets may have different characteristics that present other risks to the lander or a crew member.

##### Lightning

The planet is subject to frequent lightning strikes that may damage lander while in flight. Lightnings inflict hull damage and defects and briefly stall the engine. Staying on the ground is safe. Lightnings always approach from the background, in consequence the first lightning will never strike the lander and are a warning! Move sideways quickly to escape out of the lightnings range or land on the ground. In real world this is not a major problem, as most aircraft and spacecraft are protected by the faraday cage principle.

##### Thunderstorms

Lightning strikes occur frequently to the point where pro-active evasion of lightnings is required to avoid damage (in contrast to just flying to one's destination quickly, which can work on "Lightning").

##### Some Earthquakes

The planet features significant seismic activity that can interfere with activities on the ground. The surface will jiggle and rumble, tossing the lander into the air if it is on the ground. The rumbling sound starts shortly before the actual earthquake. It's still possible to start the lander engine and avoid taking damage.

##### Heavy Earthquakes

The earthquakes are more frequent and longer. The lander will suffer significant damage if it is still on the ground when an earthquake starts. Damage to the crew is possible too.

##### None

The planet features none of the hazards from this list.

**Note:** One hazard not shown on scanners are *infestations*. Infested planets can be identified by their greenish appearance and the presence of a wreck. Infested planets feature a layer of infectious mass in the air that can afflict the pilot with the Infested status, and massive wormy, half-transparent tentacles are spread across the surface.

## Lifeforms

Indicates if there are any aliens on the surface.

## Structures

Indicates if there are any wrecks, ruins, biotopes, buildings or other artificial constructs. Cities can be seen from space without requiring the use of a scanner (though smaller settlements like those of the Reeve may be hard to find) and some wrecks be anticipated.