Moon Sweepers Guide: Essential Tips, Brush Upgrades, and Automation

Master Moon Sweepers with our complete guide covering brush upgrades, vehicles, factory automation, exploration rewards, and power setups.

Cleaning an entire celestial body with nothing more than a discarded toothbrush sounds like cosmic punishment, but turning that dirty wasteland into an automated empire is the heart of the experience. Surviving your first few shifts requires smart investment, efficient routing, and an understanding of how lunar logistics scale over time. This in-depth moon sweepers guide will walk you through optimal tool progressions, exploration routes, vehicle investments, and power-grid management to jumpstart your lunar career. Whether you are tackling the surface solo or coordinating with an underfunded cleanup crew, following this moon sweepers guide will prevent early bottlenecks and save you thousands of wasted credits.

Getting Started: First Steps and Basic Controls

When you step out of the starting facility in Moon Sweepers (developed by DragDrop Games and available on Steam), grab the free Toothbrush mounted on the supply wall before venturing outside. The game assigns you a staggering task—over 163,000 hexagonal sectors of lunar dust—and early funds are scarce.

Before sprinting into the dark gray expanses, familiarize yourself with essential interface keys:

Key Binding	Function	Practical Tip
G	Toggle Grid Display	Highlights hex boundaries so you know exactly where a sector ends.
H	Open Field Manual	Displays mechanics, system overviews, and sector scan summaries.
Tab	Player Stats	Tracks collected dust metrics, earnings, and personal milestones.
F5	Toggle User Interface	Hides screen clutter for clean screenshots or navigation clarity.
N	Nightlight / Night Vision	Press once for floodlights; press a second time in darkness for night vision.
Q	Pack Dust Capsule	Compresses collected dust from your tool container into a transportable pod.
B	Super Boots / Earth Gravity	Toggles heavier foot-grounding once unlocked, reducing floaty low-gravity jumps.
M	Tactical Map	Press once for regional view, twice for an expanded satellite perspective.

The Early Cleaning Loop

Do not wander thousands of yards away with a basic brush. Clean the dirty ground immediately outside your station airlock:

Sweep the ground until your container reaches maximum capacity.
Press Q to compress the material into a capsule when your brush fills up.
Carry the capsules back inside to the Depot deposit receptacle.
Complete entire hexes rather than leaving half-cleaned patches behind.

Community reports emphasize completing individual hexes immediately: a fully cleared sector yields an instant flat cash bonus (around $10 early on, and roughly 30 kg of dust collected). That bonus money gives you the fast cash needed to buy professional equipment right away.

[ Dirty Lunar Hex ] ──> ( Brush Dirt ) ──> [ Full Hopper ] 
                              │
                              ▼
                     [ Pack Capsule (Q) ] ──> [ Depot Deposit ] ──> [ Upgrades Funded ]

Tool Progression: Hand Brushes and Matrix Upgrades

Upgrading your handheld brush is your primary early objective. However, players often debate whether to prioritize cleaning width (strip coverage) or container capacity (how much dust you can hold before packing a capsule).

Cleaning Tool	Purchase Cost	Primary Strength	Recommended Next Step
Toothbrush	Free	Starting item; zero risk	Replace after clearing your first 2–3 hexes
Nail Brush	$5	Minor width increase	Quick stepping stone if cash is very tight
Handbrush	$10	Modest sweep area	Useful budget tool; bypass if you have $25
Household Broom	$25	Standard clearing swath	Upgrade container capacity immediately ($30)
Wide Broom	$75	Broad sweeping pass (~65.9 cm)	Core mid-tier manual tool; excellent ROI
Extra Wide Broom	$150	Maximum manual width (~98.8 cm)	Optional; consider saving directly for Garage

Width vs. Capacity: How to Choose

Buy Container Upgrades ($30 for 6 kg on Household Broom) when you find yourself constantly stopping to pack capsules or when your cleaning route takes you farther from the Depot.
Buy Wider Tools (Wide Broom) when you spend most of your time making repetitive sweeps across broad terrain.
Skip Extra Wide Broom if you are already close to funding vehicular automation. Player experience shows that jumping straight from the Wide Broom to automated or drivable gear prevents redundant spending.

The Upgrade Matrix

Inside the station terminal, your Upgrade Matrix divides progress into five categories: Containers, Cleaning, Suit, Logistics, and Economy.

Upgrade Name	Cost (Base)	Primary Benefit	Strategic Priority
Wide Head	$40	+8% cleaning width across manual tools	High (if playing manual solo)
Dust Compactor	$150	+15% carrying capacity on all containers	Moderate (prerequisite upgrades apply)
Auto Packer	Variable	Drops packed capsules at feet when full	High (removes manual packing interruptions)
Market Contracts	$120	+6% launch payout value on sold dust	High (scales all current and future income)
Region Bounty	Variable	+$15 bonus per fully cleaned sector	High (rewards thorough hex completion)
Supplier Network	Variable	5% overall discount on equipment/upgrades	Best bought before purchasing large vehicles

Early Exploration: Finding Lunar Flags and Survey Sites

While manual cleaning keeps the lights on, exploration offers a massive initial cash injection. If you spend your first 30 minutes jogging across the crater ridges surrounding your spawn base, you can uncover high-value exploration targets without sweeping a single speck of dust.

Exploration POI	Interaction Method	Cash Reward	Strategic Benefit
Lunar Flag	Hold E to untangle	$100 – $200	Provides instant capital for brooms and container mods
Survey Site	Complete scan interaction	$250	Equal to dozens of manual capsule deposits
Secondary Bases	Approach station boundary	Unlocks Teleport	Fast-travel nodes across the Moon Map

A fast circular loop within 1,000 yards of your starting depot can easily yield $300 to $500 from untangling flags and claiming surveys. Community guides frequently recommend this exact opening: use exploration bounties to buy a Wide Broom, unlock the 6 kg capacity upgrade, and grab early Market Contracts before settling into your regular cleaning routine.

Vehicle Guide: From Push Sweepers to the Mega Vacuum Rover

Once manual cleaning becomes a bottleneck, vehicles revolutionize your productivity. Vehicles allow you to clear wide tracks across the moonscape while holding tons of dust inside onboard hoppers.

To buy and operate vehicles, you must first construct or unlock the Garage for $200. Note that in multiplayer sessions, vehicles and personal tool upgrades belong to the player who bought them.

Vehicle Model	Price	Intake Width	Hopper Capacity	Recommended Use Case
Push Sweeper	$300	Small pass	~200–400 kg	Early vehicle tier; manual pushing
Ride-on Sweeper	$1,000	Medium pass	~600–800 kg	First drivable unit; ideal for flat basins
Crew Transport Van	$2,000	None (utility)	Passenger focus	Multi-crew transit to distant hubs
Lunar Sweeper	$2,500	2.8 meters	1,200 kg	3-brush system; great handling & stability
Mega Vacuum Rover	$6,000	4.0 meters	3,000 kg (up to 5,700 kg)	Late-game heavy sweeper; variable suction

Mega Vacuum Rover Controls and Suction Modes

Driving the Mega Vacuum Rover dramatically accelerates your cleanup speed, but managing its suction settings is essential:

Shift: Toggles Nitro Boost.
C: Toggles Cruise Control (must be unlocked via upgrades).
L: Toggles high-beam vehicle headlights.
Mouse Scroll Wheel: Changes suction modes between Eco, Normal, High, Max, and Full.

Pro Tip: Higher suction settings widen your active cleaning strip and clear dense patches instantly, but they significantly reduce forward speed. Use Eco or Normal when traversing between dusty hexes, and ramp up to Max or Full when driving deliberate parallel lanes through untouched territory.

Power Grids, Base Building, and Factory Automation

As your operation grows, manual capsule hauling must give way to automated conveyor logistics and processing facilities. A key turning point in this moon sweepers guide is shifting from broom collection to automated rocket launches.

Power Generation and Battery Ratios

Solar energy runs your machines, but the Moon's harsh day-night cycle can shut down unbuffered factories. Player testing has established clear rules of thumb for factory power:

Machine Type	Day Generation	Night Storage	Recommended Panel Ratio
Large Solar Panel	16 kWh daytime output	10 kWh battery buffer	Baseline power unit (skip small panels)
Pressure Chamber	Continuous draw	Requires night buffer	2 Large Solar Panels per 1 Chamber
Stone Press	High industrial load	Heavy draw	3 Large Solar Panels per 1 Press

Avoid small solar panels entirely; they provide insufficient wattage and create unmanageable footprint bloat. Stick exclusively to Large Solar Panels coupled with adequate battery banks to ensure zero factory downtime during nighttime shifts.

Conveyor Management and Splitter Controls

When running conveyor belts into your processing lines and depot delivery chutes:

Use the Scroll Wheel: When placing belt splitters and mergers, the scroll wheel cycles input/output orientations.
Build Overflow Chutes: Always route an overflow conveyor directly into a sales chute. If your stone presses or compactors back up, raw lunar dust can overflow and stall your garage unloader.
Clear Ground Dust Before Building: You cannot place structural foundations or ramps over dirty terrain. Sweep the ground completely clean first, or construction snaps will fail.

[ Garage Unload Chute ] ──> [ Conveyor Line ] ──┬──> [ Processing Machines ]
                                                │
                                                └──> [ Overflow Line ] ──> [ Auto-Sale Chute ]

End-Game Automation: JONAS Units and Capsule Catchers

The ultimate cleaning milestones depend on autonomous units called JONAS.

Build Capsule Catchers at your base.
Deploy JONAS cleaners across untouched regions of the Moon Map.
Once a JONAS unit finishes sweeping a hex, it automatically launches a resource capsule back toward your base.
The Capsule Catcher receives the incoming rocket pod and automatically feeds the dust directly into your conveyor network—clearing sectors while you manage base expansions or play air hockey in the lounge.

Moon Sweepers Map Tracking and Multiplayer Roles

Tracking your progress across 163,000 sectors requires constant use of the lunar console:

Map Color Code	Sector Status	Player Action Required
Orange	Untouched	Ready for vehicle passes or JONAS deployment
Blue	In Progress / Partial	Inspect borders and thin dust strips to claim completion bonus
Green	100% Completed	Region fully cleared; bounty awarded

Multiplayer Division of Labor

In co-op sessions (supporting up to 16 players), pooled efficiency beats chaotic roaming every time:

The Ground Sweeper: Uses upgraded handheld brooms or the Ride-on Sweeper to clear edges and finalize 99% complete hexes into green sectors.
The Pioneer: Takes a rover to explore distant craters, tag new fast-travel bases, and untangle flags.
The Factory Engineer: Stays at the central base constructing solar grids, unjamming conveyor lines, and managing launch depots.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the fastest way to make money early in Moon Sweepers?

The fastest strategy is to complete a quick exploration lap around your starting base to untangle 2 to 3 American flags (earning $100–$200 each) and complete any nearby Survey Sites ($250). Reinvest this cash immediately into a Household or Wide Broom, upgrade your container capacity, and prioritize fully finishing nearby hexes to stack Region Bounties.

Why won't my base structures snap or place on the ground?

Structures, ramps, and foundations will fail to place if there is uncollected lunar dust beneath the blueprint footprint. Clear the target area thoroughly with a broom or vehicle before placing your building parts.

How do I use night vision in Moon Sweepers?

Press N to activate your helmet floodlight. If it is fully dark outside, press N a second time to switch from standard illumination to night vision mode. Pressing N during bright daylight will not trigger night vision.

What should I prioritize first: brush width or container capacity?

As highlighted in this moon sweepers guide, upgrade container capacity when you find yourself constantly stopping to pack capsules with Q, and upgrade brush width when your back-and-forth passes feel too narrow across wide, open sectors. For early play, grabbing the Household Broom followed by its $30 capacity upgrade provides the best balance of speed and convenience.