Space Encounter

The subject of this article is from the Origins update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 9 November, 2020.

Space Encounters are a type of game event.

Summary

Space encounters are just that - unusual encounters that occur while pulsing in space.

The objective of this page is to define a space encounter and list each encounter in a categorized table. Links will be provided leading to the individual pages for each encounter as more information is made available.

Official release quotes

The following quotes are extracted from the Official Living Ship Update:

• Experience rare encounters with mysterious space objects and strange new lifeforms while pulsing through a star system.
• Investigating these may often yield rewards – or more dangerous encounters!
• Different encounters have different chances of occurring based on the characteristics of the solar system.

How To Find Them

Space encounters occur randomly when travelling between planets while using your Pulse Engine.

Example:

The Hyperspace Navigation Station stated a communication as I was using my engine to get to a planet. It said something along the lines of:

A rare object has entered your system. Disengage your Pulse Engine to view it.

After halting my engine, the station warped in front of me.

You can also force the appearance of a random Space Encounter with an Anomaly Detector, which you will very rarely find while mining asteroids.

Reported Encounters

NOTE: Update the list or notify someone to update the list as more information becomes available.

Encounter Image	Encounter Name	Known System Types	Relative Frequency	Interaction Required	Rewards
	Alien Repair	Inhabited	4	Offer Resources	and increased Faction standing
	Ramifications: None
	Alien Trader	Inhabited	12	Trade	Items for Purchase
	Ramifications: None
	Alien Trader Special Offer	Inhabited	2	Trade	Rare artifact for purchase / barter
	Ramifications: None
	Anomalous Numbers Station	Any	1	Use communicator	Gives 5 sets of 3 digits (847 ... 471 .... etc)
	Ramifications: None
	Asteroid Larvae	Any	1	Unknown	None
	Ramifications: Engages in combat when shot, but cannot be killed
	Child of Helios	Any	1	Use communicator	Living Water during Starbirth mission, nothing otherwise
	Ramifications: None
	Condensed Stellar Ice	Any	1	Shoot down	Quicksilver, Dioxite, Uranium, Condensed Carbon, Di-hydrogen,
	Ramifications: None
	Derelict Freighter - Space Encounter	Any	4		Chromatic Metal or other resource
	Cannot be interacted with directly, but a small cargo pod may spawn, allowing the player to destroy them to get resources. However, doing so will occasionally cause Pirates to ambush. Also a chance for destructible doors to spawn on the derelict & a storage container behind it that awards items when shot.
	Derelict Freighter	Any
	Can be explored fully and features procedurally generated rooms. Introduced during the Desolation update.
	Dyson Lens	Any	1	Shoot down
	Ramifications: Instantly sets your Wanted level to 5 if shot at.
	Emergency Civilisation Shelter Pod	Any	2	Use communicator	Message stating current Pod status.
	Ramifications: Provides two numbers that combine into a decimal number. Convert to hexadecimal signed 2's complement, meaning keep it 16 in length after conversion by adding zeros to the beginning. Use this as a galaxy address. One of the 4 hex slots will come up as invalid. Remove those 4 and you will be left with a valid portal address.
	Emergency Containment Device	Any	2	Shoot down	Terrifying Sample
	Ramifications: Drops Terrifying Sample (Keeping this item in your inventory may cause this Space Encounter to stalk you / keep occurring; pulling you out of pulse drive without the usual warning).
	Gaseous Sentience	Any	1	Use communicator
	Ramifications: None, but they may appear in different colours
	Grave of the Ocean King	Any	1	Enter and exit	Fossil Sample or Excavated Bones
	Ramifications: None
	Hazard Containment Field	Any	1	Shoot down	Rare artifact
	Ramifications: Drops Terrifying Sample (Keeping this item in your inventory may cause this Space Encounter to stalk you / keep occurring; pulling you out of pulse drive without the usual warning). Sometimes drops Biological Sample or Magnetised Ferrite instead.
	Hyperspace Navigation Station	Any	1	Use communicator	Gives 16 hexadecimal digits code
	Ramifications: None. Transmitted code can be converted into a usable portal address by dropping 4 digits.
	Ironbound Relic	Any	1	Shoot down	Platinum / Gold / Silver / Ancient Bones / Fossil Sample / Terrifying Sample
	Ramifications: Drops Terrifying Sample (Keeping this item in your inventory may cause this Space Encounter to stalk you / keep occurring; pulling you out of pulse drive without the usual warning).
	Jettisoned Storage Silo	Any	1	Shoot down	Any in-game resource or item (which ever one is listed when you look at it)
	Ramifications: None
	Living Metalloid	Any	1	Shoot down	Carbon, Silver, Salvageable Scrap, Upgrade Modules (Always for normal ships & almost always S-Class)
	Ramifications: Unknown
	Messenger of Atlas	Any	2	Use communicator	Gives an Atlas word
	Ramifications: None whether accepting or rejecting the message of Atlas. Encountered having different shapes.
	Pirate-Controlled Monitoring Station	Inhabited	1	Shoot down	and then Increased Faction standing after defeating pirates
	Ramifications: Triggers pirates once destroyed
	Plasmic Accident	Any	1	Shoot down	Terrifying Sample / / Mordite
	Ramifications: Drops Terrifying Sample (Keeping this item in your inventory will cause this Space Encounter to stalk you / keep occurring; pulling you out of pulse drive without the usual warning)
	Relic Gate	Any	1	Fly through	None
	Ramifications: Teleports you to another system, over a much longer distance than Black Holes can teleport you. Unlike a black hole, you may end up further from the galactic core.
	Rogue Black Hole	Any	1	Fly through	Long-distance travel
	Ramifications: Teleports you to other system and breaks a single upgrade
	Rubble of the First Spawn	Any	1	Unknown	Unknown
	Ramifications: Unknown
	Secret Listening Post	Inhabited	2	Use communicator	None
	Ramifications: None, allows you to intercept messages between Aliens
	Stellar Intelligence	Any	1	Use communicator	POSSIBLY Coordinates to an Ancient Ruin
	Ramifications: None, but damages you when shot
	Void Egg	Any	7	Shoot down	A Living Ship upgrade. Does not appear if you have a Void Egg on board OR any parts needed to create a Living Ship
	Ramifications: None, however requires flying Living Ship to encounter

Information Requiring Further Investigation

The following information must still be assessed:

• What interactions can be taken
• What are the rewards and ramifications for interacting with the encounters

Additional information

Most star systems have Recurring Space Encounters which can be reliably found after entering the system. For example, in the Samnadhr sja'Gulr system, the Grave of the Ocean King rare deep space object will be encountered 45 seconds after entering the system. Similarly in Sudhr-Stjarna ei'Blar, Rogue Black Holes are encountered 3:25 and 7:25 minutes after entering the system. All known recurring space encounters have been listed on their respective system pages.

All 6 living ship upgrades can be farmed from any system using the space void eggs, but the class at which each of the 6 appears will be the same in that system. e.g. If you find a Grafted Eye Upgrade Module at B-Class, all Grafted Eye Modules in this system will also be B-Class.