Moon
A natural satellite in orbit around a planet. Moons vary in composition and type, and derive strategic value from both their own resource profile and their proximity to their parent planet.
Purpose
Provide a mid-range development option that creates meaningful extensions of planet-based holdings. A moon is not interchangeable with a planet or an asteroid belt — it occupies a distinct strategic position as a satellite of something larger.
Player Value
A moon makes the planet it orbits more valuable. Its composition often contrasts with its parent planet, meaning a player who controls both gains access to a broader resource base within the same orbital context. Moons offer a more focused development site than a full planet, useful when a player needs specific resources but not an entire industrial hub.
Moon Types
Ice Moon
A moon composed primarily of ice and frozen compounds. Ice moons are a surface-accessible source of Volatiles.
- Surface-accessible. Sectors can be placed directly on the surface.
- Typically weighted toward Volatiles in their resource occurrence profile.
- Makes the planet it orbits more valuable by adding an additional claimable development site.
Resource Profile
Ice Moon
| Resource | Occurrence Range |
|---|---|
| Volatiles | Trace to Moderate (0.5× to 1.0×) |
Each ice moon receives its own occurrence rating at world creation within this range.
Rules
- Moons orbit a specific planet, not the system centre.
- Each moon receives a resource occurrence profile at world creation time. This profile does not change through gameplay.
- Moons have more sector slots than asteroid belts but fewer than planets.
- World generation tends toward giving moons a different composition profile from their parent planet.
- A moon can be claimed independently from its parent planet, subject to ownership rules.
Player Actions
- View a moon's position within the system map, relative to its parent planet.
- View a moon's type and resource occurrence profile.
- Claim a moon (subject to ownership rules).
- Place sectors on a surface-accessible moon (subject to infrastructure rules).
Constraints
- Moons cannot be moved or destroyed by players.
- A moon always orbits a specific parent planet. It cannot orbit the system centre directly.
- Slot count and sector placement rules are defined in the infrastructure feature documentation.
- Ownership rules are defined in their respective features.
- Extraction rules are defined in the extraction feature documentation.