Celestial Bodies

This page discusses the game mechanics for celestial bodies. For a list of all space bodies in Terra Invicta, as well as their stats, see Space Body List instead.

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 infrastructure is constructed around (Lagrange points being the exception). The number of bodies depends on the System setup at the beginning of the campaign, but objects are always present in the game up to a distance of 50 Astronomical Units from the Sun (up to the Kuiper Belts)

Saturn and his satellite bodies, as seen at the beginning of the campaign.

Body types and Composition

There are four categories of Celestial Bodies (discounting the Sun): Planets, Dwarf Planets, Natural Satellites and Asteroids. There are 1 to 25 locations on almost each body 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 based on resource rolls.

Determining the exact resources available requires either a probe to be sent, or a ship with a Mobile Space Science Lab to perform a survey operation.

Tip: If you want to send many probes there is a one-click option in the Intel -> Solar System tab.

Ground sites and Orbits

Excluding the Gas Giants and Venus, most space bodies have at least 1 site that allows ground habitation. Small asteroids and moons typically only have 1 site, while larger moons and planets can have up to 25 sites. Smaller space bodies also restrict the maximum tier of hab that can be constructed on them.

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 nomenclatures are: Inclined, Medium, Intermediate, Extreme and Synchronous; but the altitude, graviational pull, and the number of possible stations in the orbit 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 through the use of specific hab and ship modules, especially when the body is Earth. 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

The five basic space resources ( Water, Volatiles, Metals, Nobles, and Fissiles) can be found in these bodies. Their abundance and distribution depend on dice rolls cast during world generation.

Regardless, some celestial bodies can be always far more valuable than others in terms of resource placements and utility. Early resources in the Moon for instance, are far lower than Mars (which is typically the main expansion point in the early game). Space bodies in the outer solar system are also generally richer to encourage further expansion. Different bodies and orbits do, at the end of the day, carry material or strategic value depending on the player's needs in a given campaign.