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Every planet in No Man’s Sky has multiple points of interest to explore, from portals, abandoned outposts, observatories, and much more. There are even crashed starships that were abandoned by their previous owners and are yours for the taking if you can find them.
Here’s a rundown on what you need to know about crashed ships in No Man’s Sky, including how to get them and what you can do with them once one has been found.
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How to Find Crashed Ships in No Man’s Sky
Crashed ships appear randomly on every planet, and you have a chance to find one by simply exploring the surface on foot or using your Exocraft. However, you can also target crashed ships specifically using Planetary Charts.
There are several Planetary Charts available in No Man’s Sky, but you will need to buy the Planetary Chart (Emergency Cartographic Data). So, head to the space station and buy the map for one Navigation Data from the Cartographer.
Use the map when in space to locate the distress signal. There are multiple types of distress signals, so it’s worth your while to buy a few Planetary Charts. After using the map, the scanner will reveal a marker that leads to the distress signal.
You need the
Distress Beacon marker
. If the map leads anywhere else, don’t go there. Instead, use another Planetary Chart until you locate the crashed ship.
At the crash site, you can interact with the Distress Beacon to find out what happened to the previous owner and claim the ship. When inspecting the ship, make sure to select “Claim Ship.” Otherwise, you may accidentally abandon your current ship and its cargo.
Crashed ships always have multiple broken slots and technologies that you must repair.
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What to Do With Crashed Ships in No Man’s Sky
Scrap for Units or Parts
The easiest thing to do with a crashed ship in No Man’s Sky is to sell it for Units on a space station. You don’t need to fully repair the ship; only the Pulse Engine and the Launch Thrusters need to be mended. Fly it to the space station, and at the Starship Outfitting station, select “Begin Salvage Analysis.”
You can claim the scrap to sell for Units or extract a customization module. The customization modules are needed to build a custom starship at the Starship Fabricator. So, if you want to build one of your own, you can easily do that by scrapping crashed ships.
Repair and Use
If you want to unleash your inner mechanic, you can repair the ship and use it yourself. This may take some time and resources, though, as there are usually many broken slots on a crashed ship.
Resources you might need to repair them range from Magnetised Ferrite and Activated Copper to Pugneum and Wiring Looms. It’s not a cheap endeavor to repair a ship in No Man’s Sky, but it could be a fun way for players to spend some of their in-game time.
