Flags, Surveys and the Long Way Round

Quick answer

Untangle flags for $100 each and complete survey sites for around $250. Both are worth a short detour, especially early. Skip long journeys for a single flag once your factory is producing. Since 1.0.4 you can right-click the map to set waypoints and teleport between discovered stations, which changes the maths considerably.

Flags and untangling

Flags are physical objects out on the surface. Walk close enough to get an interaction prompt and use the untangle action. Driving past or sweeping around the base does not count — the interaction has to complete.

In observed play a flag paid $100. That is a substantial amount during the toothbrush stage, roughly four Household Brooms, and it is why early exploration is disproportionately rewarding.

Survey sites

Lunar survey sites are a different interaction with their own progress. A completed survey awarded around $250 in an observed exploration run.

Treat surveying as distinct from cleaning and from flags. When you arrive at a site, look for the available interaction and confirm it completes before you drive away — the reward is tied to completion, not proximity.

Stations and fast travel

One Moon Map displayed 12 stations alongside separate flag and surveyed-site counters. Stations are not simply cosmetic: patch 1.0.4 added a Teleport Panel that lets you view and teleport between stations you have discovered.

That single addition changes exploration from a one-way trip into a network. A station you visited once is now a permanent fast-travel point, which makes distant untouched regions practical rather than a commitment.

Waypoints in 1.0.4

Right-clicking the map now lets you set a waypoint, focus the camera on a location, or teleport. Robots also appear on the map with their current activity, and each robot type can be toggled off if the icons get busy.

When a detour is worth it

The value of exploration depends entirely on what your time is currently worth.

• Early (toothbrush to Household Broom): a $100 flag is enormous. Detour freely.
• Mid (first vehicles): combine exploration with cleaning. Drive to a distant region, clean on the way, untangle flags you pass.
• Late (automated factory): a $100 flag is a rounding error. Only detour if it is genuinely on the route or if you are chasing a counter.

One trip, three purposes

The efficient exploration pattern once you own a vehicle: pick a distant untouched region, clean fresh ground along the route, and collect any flag or survey you pass on the way back. That converts travel time into income instead of spending it.

Exploring at night

Darkness makes surface details hard to recognise, which makes navigation harder than it needs to be. Two options:

• Work near known landmarks. Short trips between completed hexes are far easier than driving into unfamiliar terrain.
• Buy the Night Vision Goggles. $350, toggled with N. They make nights look like daytime without shadows, and they are visible on your astronaut.

The goggles are a quality-of-life purchase, not an income upgrade. Buy them if you play long sessions or if driving at night is genuinely annoying you.

For how exploration feeds the completion grind, read the map and completion guide. For the vehicles that make distant regions practical, read vehicles.