Moons

A moon orbits one of your planets. It produces nothing, but it can hold buildings no planet can, like the Sensor Phalanx and the Jump Gate. Moons show under their planet in the planet selector.

How a moon forms

Moons come from big battles at a planet. After the battle, there's a chance a moon forms in its orbit:

• The moon chance is 1% for every full 100,000 metal and crystal of debris that battle created, up to 20% at 2,000,000.
• Only debris from that battle counts. Debris already in orbit doesn't help, and a new moon doesn't use up the debris.
• Destroyed ships leave 30% of their metal and crystal as debris; destroyed defenses leave none. Each 1% takes about 333,000 metal and crystal of ships destroyed, on either side. See Fleets and combat.
• The moon belongs to the planet's owner, whoever won the battle.
• A planet can have only one moon. Battles at a planet that already has one, or at a moon, never create another. Excavation and expedition battles never create moons.

Moon size

A moon's diameter grows with the battle's debris, plus a random roll:

Size doesn't change how much you can build. It matters if someone tries to destroy the moon: bigger moons are harder to destroy and more dangerous to attack. The Galaxy shows a moon's diameter when you select it.

Space on a moon

Every moon starts with 1 field. The Lunar Base adds 3 fields per level and uses one itself. Build it first: spend the starting field on anything else and there's no room left for the base.

What you can build

Mines, power plants, Research Laboratories, Missile Silos and other planet buildings can't be built on a moon. Production Boosters don't work on moons either.

What moons are for

• Sensor Phalanx: scan another commander's planet in the same galaxy to see fleets leaving it, returning to it or heading for it. Range is level² − 1 systems either way: level 1 covers only the moon's own system, level 2 three systems, level 3 eight, level 4 fifteen. Each scan costs 5,000 deuterium stored on the moon, so ship deuterium there first.
• Hidden movements: a phalanx only scans planets. Fleets heading to a moon or returning to one never show up, and neither do recalled deployments, which makes a moon a quieter base for your fleet.
• Jump Gate: moves ships instantly between two of your moons that both have a Jump Gate. Cargo stays behind. Afterwards both gates recharge for one hour, shortened by the universe's fleet speed.
• Relocation: moving a planet with Credits takes its moon along. See Credits.
• A moon doesn't count toward your colony limit. A planet with a moon can't be abandoned, and moons can't be abandoned on their own.

Losing a moon

Moons can be spied on and attacked like planets, and attacks on a moon count toward the daily attack limit. See Protection and vacation.

A fleet with at least one Deathstar can fly a Destroy moon mission. If it wins the battle, two separate rolls use the moon's diameter and the surviving Deathstars:

• Moon destroyed: (100 − √diameter) × √Deathstars percent.
• Attacking fleet lost: √diameter ÷ 2 percent. This takes the whole surviving fleet, not just the Deathstars.

A destroyed moon takes its buildings, stationed ships and stored resources with it. Fleets flying to it or due to return to it go to its planet instead.