Moon Sweepers: how J.O.O.N.A.S. and capsule catchers work

J.O.O.N.A.S. now sends each capsule to the emptiest catcher in the nearest group; catchers within 100 m belong to a group. Once every catcher in that group is over 80% full, delivery moves to the next group. This supersedes the older rule to always aim at one nearest catcher.

The patch reports fixes for distant cleaned hexes sticking at 99.9%, permanent building-blocked spots left by J.O.O.N.A.S., and empty sectors showing 0%. On loading, finished sectors are checked, completed and paid. Kingy has not verified a particular world, reward payment or building placement.

Both are in the Build menu's Services tab, next to the Mk I ($250) and Mk II ($500) robot vacuums and the garage ($200). The launch-footage J.O.O.N.A.S. card said it scrubs the whole Moon one hex at a time, always the nearest hex still dusty, and fires its dust in capsules at the nearest capsule catcher, anywhere on the Moon. Without one, it waits with a full bin until one is built.

That card’s nearest-catcher description predates the 1.0.5 grouped-delivery rule above. The launch prices remain footage evidence, not a new 1.0.5 price test.

1. In the Build menu's Services tab, place a capsule catcher ($1,500) where you want the dust delivered, then buy and place J.O.O.N.A.S. ($20,000).

   Checked on screen · Oct 26, 2026

   0:12–0:15 · 3 sThe Services tab: capsule catcher $1,500 and J.O.O.N.A.S. $20,000

   0:12–0:15The Services tab: capsule catcher $1,500 and J.O.O.N.A.S. $20,000

Before patch 1.0.4, many players found J.O.O.N.A.S. and the small robots stopped working when they were far away, and the studio named it a top priority. Patch 1.0.4 (October 25) says J.O.O.N.A.S. keeps cleaning when no players are nearby, cleans one hex at a time from the outside in, finds its way around buildings, and launches capsules to the nearest catcher from anywhere without trips back to a dock. Capsule catchers now hold 100 kg and show the collected dust. Players who updated report their J.O.O.N.A.S. fleets going back to finish half-done areas.

Version 1.0.5 uses the emptiest catcher in the nearest 100 m group, then moves groups once every catcher is over 80% full. No fixed fleet-to-catcher ratio is supplied. The older 12-to-3 player setup was a report on an earlier build, not an official current ratio.

Players reported permanent blocked spots after J.O.O.N.A.S. moved on 1.0.4. The October 28 patch reports this fixed. Preserve the save and record the exact location and installed version if it persists; Kingy has not verified recovery.

The October 26 reports of cleaned sectors showing 0% predate the 1.0.5 load-time sector-completion fix. The patch does not resolve the separate question of J.O.O.N.A.S. solar-power requirements; its older build card supplied no power requirement.