Ad Astra is a space exploration mod that takes Minecraft players on a journey through the solar system and beyond. Starting from iron and steel on Earth, players progress through four rocket tiers, exploring the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and ultimately Glacio in a distant star system. Along the way, they encounter alien civilizations, dangerous extraterrestrial creatures, and environmental hazards that require careful preparation to survive.
The mod's progression follows a strict material chain: each planet yields resources used to build the next rocket and better space armor. Players feel the weight of that escalation, as every departure demands new machines, new power infrastructure, and new survival gear. First-time players often describe the early setup as surprisingly involved before any rocket leaves the ground, which makes the first lunar landing feel genuinely rewarding.
Getting Started with Ad Astra
Ad Astra requires building several machines on Earth before any rocket component can be assembled. Every machine runs on energy generated by a 
Coal Generator, the mod's basic power source.
Build the Coal Generator first, connect it to a 
Compressor using 
Steel Cables, and begin processing 
Iron Ingots into 
Iron Plates. Iron Plates appear in almost every early recipe, so producing a large stack early saves significant time later.
Build Your Power and Processing Machines
The Coal Generator burns 
Coal and combustible materials to produce 20 energy per tick, powering connected machines through Steel Cables. The Compressor takes that power and presses ingots into plates, the foundational material for most early crafting recipes.
16Both machines need to be running before any rocket part can be crafted, so build them as soon as iron is available. A Hammer, crafted from Iron Ingots and 
Sticks, can also produce Iron Plates directly in the crafting grid without needing the Compressor.
Smelt Steel and Process Materials
Steel Ingots are the backbone of the 
Tier 1 Rocket and most early machines. Produce them in the 
Etrionic Blast Furnace's alloy mode, which combines one Iron Ingot with Coal to output one Steel Ingot.
Run Steel Ingots through the Compressor to produce 
Steel Plates. Collect both Iron Plates and Steel Plates in quantity, since both materials appear throughout early rocket and machine crafting recipes.
4Build the NASA Workbench and Rocket Components
The 
Nasa Workbench is a dedicated crafting station required to assemble rockets. It cannot be replaced by a standard Crafting Table. Once built, place a 
Rocket Nose Cone at the top, six 
Steel Blocks in the center slots, four 
Rocket Fins at the outer positions, two 
Steel Tanks on the sides, and a 
Steel Engine at the bottom.
The workbench assembles these components into a Tier 1 Rocket. Craft at least two 
Launch Pads: one for takeoff and one to carry along for the return trip.
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Refine Oil into Rocket Fuel
Rockets run on Fuel refined from Oil, which appears as surface deposits in ocean biomes worldwide. Collect Oil with a Bucket and bring it to a 
Fuel Refinery powered by the Coal Generator. Each launch consumes 3,000 units of fuel, which fills exactly three 
Fuel Buckets.
Store three additional Fuel Buckets inside the rocket inventory for the return trip. Collecting at least six buckets before the first flight is the standard recommendation, since running out of return fuel on the Moon leaves the player stranded.
Craft and Fill a Space Suit
The 
Space Suit protects players from the vacuum and extreme temperatures of space. The full set requires a 
Space Helmet, Space Suit, 
Space Pants, and 
Space Boots, all built from Iron Plates, Steel Plates, and an 
Oxygen Gear component. Oxygen Gear is a crafting ingredient, not worn equipment.
Fill the Space Suit with Oxygen by building an 
Oxygen Loader, supplying it with power from the Coal Generator, and processing water buckets through its input slot. The suit's built-in tank holds 1,000 millibuckets of Oxygen.
Launch and Land Safely
With the Tier 1 Rocket placed on a Launch Pad and fuel loaded into the fuel slot, enter the rocket and press Space to launch. A planet selection screen appears in orbit showing available destinations. The Tier 1 Rocket can reach the Moon or Earth orbit.
When landing, players descend inside a Lander and must press Space to fire the landing thrusters and slow down before reaching the surface. Missing this step causes the Lander to crash and explode on impact, destroying the rocket and killing the player.
Before launching, place a Launch Pad and three Fuel Buckets in the rocket's inventory. Players who land on the Moon without a return Launch Pad are stranded with no way home. Soul Torches and Glowstone also belong in the inventory, since regular Torches extinguish in the airless environment of other planets.
Oxygen, Life Support, and Gravity
Surviving off-world requires a supply of breathable Oxygen and, on low-gravity planets, tools to manage movement. The Space Suit chest-piece holds Oxygen in its built-in fluid tank, consuming approximately 1 unit every 0.6 seconds while outside a sealed environment.
Gas Tanks and 
Large Gas Tanks extend the supply, holding 1,000 and 3,000 millibuckets respectively. Fill them at an Oxygen Loader and carry them in the inventory for top-off access on long expeditions.
To create a permanent habitable space on any planet, players build a sealed airtight room and place an 
Oxygen Distributor inside, connected to a 
Water Pump and a power source. The Water Pump draws from an infinite water source below it, feeds water to the Oxygen Distributor through Fluid Pipes, and the Distributor converts water into breathable air throughout the sealed space.
One Oxygen Distributor supports up to 6,000 blocks. Using the distributor's interface and clicking the "Show" button reveals where the oxygen boundary currently reaches, making it easy to identify gaps in the seal.
Water freezes almost instantly on cold planets like the Moon. Bring a Large Gas Tank pre-filled with Oxygen from Earth and use it to seed the Oxygen Distributor before any water is placed. Once a small oxygen zone exists, water stays liquid and the Water Pump loop establishes itself automatically.
The 
Gravity Normalizer works identically to the Oxygen Distributor: place it inside a sealed area, supply it with power, and it generates Earth-like gravity in up to 6,000 blocks. Planets like the Moon and Glacio have noticeably reduced gravity, so the Gravity Normalizer is important for bases where normal movement is desired. 
Cable Ducts carry energy through walls without breaking an airtight seal, making them essential for running power from rooftop 
Solar Panels into interior machines.
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In open space and on space stations, gravity is zero. The 
Zip Gun propels the player in any direction by releasing Oxygen through its barrel.
Load it with Oxygen from an Oxygen Loader or Gas Tank and use it to navigate around the exterior of space stations, retrieve floating items, or avoid drifting away from structures. Without a Zip Gun, movement in zero gravity relies entirely on momentum, which makes it easy to float far from the station.
Ad Astra Power Systems
All machines require a steady energy supply. The Coal Generator produces 20 energy per tick and uses an iron-tier energy cap of 10,000 units.
Solar Panels scale their output based on a planet's distance from the sun: Mercury generates 64 solar power (the highest), the Moon generates 24, Glacio 14, Mars 12, and Venus 8. Solar Panels on space stations receive a bonus over surface placement, making orbital installations especially efficient for early power infrastructure.
The 
Energizer is a high-capacity battery that stores up to 2,000,000 energy. Charge it using Solar Panels or a Coal Generator, then break it and carry it to any planet.
The Energizer retains its charge when broken, so players can fill it on Earth and use it to jump-start machines on new worlds before setting up permanent power. It also charges the 
Jet Suit by right-clicking while holding the suit. Build the Energizer as soon as Ostrum is available, since it dramatically simplifies off-world setup.
Steel Cables transfer energy at 150 units per tick, while 
Desh Cables improve that to 250 per tick. Use a 
Wrench to configure cable connection directions, extend individual cable arms, or disconnect cable segments.
Fluid Pipes come in Steel (Desh) and Ostrum variants, with 
Ostrum Fluid Pipes offering a higher fluid transfer rate for large oxygen setups. The 
Oxygen Sensor emits a Redstone signal when it detects oxygen in its immediate area, useful for automated base monitoring systems.
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Ad Astra Rocket Tiers and Planet Progression
Ad Astra features four rocket tiers, each built using materials gathered from the previous planet. Every rocket shares the same assembly layout in the Nasa Workbench: one Rocket Nose Cone, four Rocket Fins, six Metal Blocks, two Metal Tanks, and one Metal Engine.
The metal tier changes as players progress, but the pattern stays consistent. Each rocket holds exactly 3,000 units of fuel, which requires three Fuel Buckets of regular Fuel or just one Bucket of Cryo Fuel.
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
Cryo Fuel, crafted in the 
Cryo Freezer from 
Ice Shards, is three times as efficient as regular Fuel. A single 
Cryo Fuel Bucket launches any rocket, freeing up two inventory slots that would otherwise hold return fuel. Ice Shards appear as ore underground on the Moon, Mars, and Glacio.
Corrupted Lunarians on the Moon also drop Ice Shards, making a mob farm an effective way to produce Cryo Fuel indefinitely. Cryo Fuel also damages entities like lava when placed in the world and freezes water on contact.
The 
Tier 1 Rover is the surface vehicle for planetary exploration. It requires Desh components, runs on regular Fuel, holds two passengers, includes an inventory, and features a built-in 
Radio block that streams internet radio stations.
Pilots can tune the Radio to any internet stream while driving, which the mod supports with no additional setup. The Rover drives at a fast pace across uneven terrain and is significantly faster than walking across the vast open surfaces of Mars and Venus.
The Moon in Ad Astra
The Moon is the first planet players visit, a gray, airless world at -173°C with 1.622 gravity. Its reduced gravity means jumps travel noticeably farther and falls land slower than on Earth, which takes some adjustment.
The Moon has no oxygen: any structure used for survival requires a sealed Oxygen Distributor setup. Regular Torches placed on the Moon extinguish without oxygen; Soul Torches and Glowstone provide reliable light in the airless environment.
The primary resource is Desh, found as 
Moon Desh Ore underground in the Lunar Wastelands biome. Desh builds 
Tier 2 Rocket components, Desh Cables for improved energy transfer, 
Desh Fluid Pipes for liquid transport, and the Water Pump needed for permanent oxygen setups.
Players also find 
Moon Cheese Ore, 
Moon Iron Ore, and 
Moon Ice Shard Ore underground. Moon 
Cheese drops edible Cheese, a useful food source while exploring.
Lunarians are the Moon's alien villagers, appearing in underground Lunarian Villages built into the Lunar Wastelands biome. They trade using 
Emeralds and offer Space Suit pieces, Soul Torches, Wrenches, Ice Shards, and Oxygen across their various professions: Armorer, Weaponsmith, Toolsmith, Librarian, Mason, and more. Lunarian Wandering Traders appear on every planet and carry survival essentials including Launch Pads (3 Emeralds), Fuel Buckets (4 Emeralds), 
Oxygen Buckets (10 Emeralds), Space Suit pieces, and filled Gas Tanks.
The Moon Dungeon is a large underground structure in the Lunar Wastelands biome, buried roughly 40 blocks below the surface. Its chests contain 
Raw Desh, Ice Shards, Emeralds, Golden Apples, randomly enchanted 
Books, Cheese, and occasionally 
Space Paintings.
Some rooms include a stack of 
Desh Blocks beside a 
Moon Globe decoration. Corrupted Lunarians, the Moon's primary hostile mob, guard the dungeon interior: they behave like zombies but fire Ice Spit projectiles at range.
Corrupted Lunarian
Ad Astra ad_astra:corrupted_lunarianStar Crawlers are spider-like hostile mobs that roam the Lunar Wastelands on both the surface and underground. They have 40 health and deal 9 damage per hit, making them more threatening than their appearance suggests. Star Crawlers target players on sight and use a basic melee attack pattern without any ranged component.
Star Crawler
Ad Astra ad_astra:star_crawlerMars in Ad Astra
Mars is the second planet on the progression path, accessible via a Tier 2 Desh Rocket. It sits at -65°C with no oxygen and lower gravity than Earth, spread across two biome types: Martian Wastelands and Martian Canyon Creek.
Underground caves hold 
Mars Iron Ore, 
Mars Ice Shard Ore, 
Mars Diamond Ore, and Ostrum Ore. Ostrum is the planet's key resource, used to craft 
Tier 3 Rocket components, Ostrum Fluid Pipes, the 
Netherite Space Suit, and the Energizer.
Mars Temples spawn in the Martian Wastelands and Canyon Creek biomes on the surface. Their chests contain 
Raw Ostrum, 
Diamonds, Emeralds, Ice Shards, Iron Ingots, Golden Apples, Enchanted Golden Apples, enchanted Books, and Suspicious Stew.
Finding a Mars Temple early is one of the fastest ways to accumulate Ostrum and progress toward hot-planet gear. The Raw Ostrum in temple chests can substitute for mining time when the caves are difficult to navigate.
Martian Raptor
Ad Astra ad_astra:martian_raptorMartian Raptors are the hostile mob of Mars. They have 26 health and deal 8 damage, move quickly, and can leap at targets. As undead mobs, they are vulnerable to Smite enchantments.
Groups of Raptors in cave systems can quickly overwhelm unprepared players, particularly when jumping through narrow passages. A Space Suit provides meaningful armor protection, but multiple simultaneous hits still drain health fast.
Venus and Mercury in Ad Astra
Venus and Mercury are the hot-tier planets reached via a Tier 3 Ostrum Rocket. Both require a full Netherite Space Suit: without it, players catch fire and die almost immediately upon landing. The Netherite Space Suit provides permanent Fire Resistance and a 2,000 millibucket oxygen tank, an improvement over the basic Space Suit's 1,000 millibuckets.
Venus is a brutal world at 464°C with 8.87 gravity, the strongest of all destinations in the mod. Its surface features lava flows, infernal terrain, and nether-style biomes.
Calorite, found as 
Venus Calorite Ore underground, is the most important resource here: it builds the 
Tier 4 Rocket and all Jet Suit components. Venus caves also contain 
Diamond Ore, 
Gold Ore, and 
Coal Ore.
Venus has several structures: Pygro Villages and Pygro Towers in the Venus Wastelands biome. Villages contain Pyros, crossbow-wielding piglin-variants with 24 health and 6 attack damage. Towers are guarded by Pygro Brutes, stronger variants with 60 health and 9 attack damage.
Moglers, hoglin-like creatures with 50 health, 8 attack damage, 0.6 armor rating, and full knockback resistance, also appear on Venus. The Zombified variants of Pyros and Moglers behave like piglins: neutral until provoked as a group.
Sulfur Creepers move faster than vanilla Creepers, explode with 3x the blast radius, and when they explode near a player wearing a Space Suit, the explosion directly drains Oxygen from the suit proportional to how close the player was. Keep extra Gas Tanks filled and avoid fighting them at close range.
Pygro Brute
Ad Astra ad_astra:pygro_bruteMercury is located at 167°C and, like Venus, requires the Netherite Space Suit. It is a mostly barren planet with no structures and very limited ore: only 
Mercury Iron Ore appears underground, along with basalt and lava formations in caves.
Mercury's primary value is as a Solar Panel installation site. With a solar power multiplier of 64, it generates more than twice the energy per Solar Panel compared to the Moon (24), making it ideal for players who need large energy budgets for the Energizer or base power.
Ad Astra Space Suit Tiers
Three Space Suit tiers cover the full progression from Earth to Glacio. Each tier requires a complete matching set of helmet, chestplate, pants, and boots to function correctly.
Wearing a partial set provides no oxygen protection. The chestplate holds the suit's oxygen tank, which the other pieces do not share: only the chestplate's tank count matters for oxygen supply.
Space Suit
Netherite Space Suit
Jet Suit
Ad Astra Jet Suit
The Jet Suit is the final space armor tier, built from Netherite Space Suit pieces upgraded with 
Calorite Plates and 
Etrionic Capacitors. The chestplate holds 4,000 millibuckets of Oxygen and a 1,000,000-energy battery for flight.
Charge the Jet Suit in an Energizer by right-clicking while holding the suit piece. The suit requires a full Jet Suit set to enable flight; wearing only the chestplate without matching pants, boots, and helmet disables the flight system.
The Jet Suit offers two distinct flight modes activated through different key combinations. Pressing Space alone propels the player upward at steadily increasing speed, useful for vertical ascent.
Pressing both Sprint and Space simultaneously activates full-flight mode, launching the player forward at high speed in the direction they are looking, functionally similar to an Elytra with a constant fireworks boost. Upward flight consumes 50 energy per tick; full-flight mode consumes 100 energy per tick.
The Jet Suit provides no automatic braking. Arriving at full speed causes fall damage identical to a normal fall. Slow down before landing by releasing Sprint and reducing altitude gradually, the same way one would land with an Elytra.
Glacio and the Proxima Centauri System
Glacio is the final planet in Ad Astra's progression, located in the Proxima Centauri solar system and accessible only via a Tier 4 Calorite Rocket. It is the only planet with a natural oxygen atmosphere, meaning players can remove their Space Suit entirely and breathe outdoors without any life support equipment. This makes Glacio a uniquely comfortable destination compared to every other off-world location in the mod.
Glacio is a frozen planet at -20°C with 3.721 gravity and surfaces covered in deep snow, 
Permafrost, and glacial formations. Deep snow pits slow and trap movement, so players should stay alert while exploring the surface.
Underground ores include Ice Shards, Coal, Copper, Iron, and 
Glacio Lapis Ore, with standard Deepslate ores appearing at greater depths. The planet's solar power rating of 14 makes it a reasonable location for Solar Panel setups.
Glacian Rams are the only mob on Glacio, passive animals with 16 health that can be sheared for 
Glacian Fur and milked like vanilla cows. They do not drop items on death.
The Glacian Wood set, including 
Glacian Logs, Planks, and related blocks, is an exclusive pink-tinted wood available only from Lunarian Wandering Traders, who stock both Glacian Logs and 
Glacian Leaves. Permafrost blocks collected on Glacio can be cut in a Stonecutter into 
Permafrost Bricks, 
Polished Permafrost, 
Permafrost Tiles, and their slab and stair variants.
Ad Astra Space Stations
A Space Station is created from the planet selection menu during any rocket launch. Before selecting the space station option, carry 64 Iron Plates, 32 Steel Ingots, 32 
Desh Ingots, and 32 
Desh Plates in the inventory.
The station can be built in orbit above any planet, not just Earth. It spawns at the same horizontal coordinates where the rocket launched, so note the coordinates before construction to return reliably.
The pre-built structure is a large iron-plated box with viewing windows overlooking the planet below. Players land on the station just as they would on a planet, using the booster to slow down in the final approach.
Space stations exist in zero gravity, so the Gravity Normalizer and Oxygen Distributor are essential for comfortable habitation. Solar Panels mounted on a space station generate more energy than the same panels on a planet surface.
Setting up a station begins with Cable Ducts routed through the walls from exterior Solar Panels to interior machines, maintaining the airtight seal. Place an Oxygen Distributor connected to a Water Pump via Fluid Pipes, then add a Gravity Normalizer for comfortable movement. Once the oxygen fills the space and gravity normalizes, players can work inside without the Space Suit and use the station as a permanent base above any planet in the system.
Ad Astra Tips for Success
Always carry a second Launch Pad on the first Moon visit. This is the single most common mistake in Ad Astra. The rocket's own Launch Pad cannot be reclaimed after landing, and forgetting one means building a completely new rocket from scratch on Earth to retrieve everything left on the Moon.
Use the Energizer as a portable power bank for new planets. Charge it fully at an Earth base, break it, and carry it to any planet.
The Energizer retains 2,000,000 energy when broken, powering machines through the entire setup phase before Solar Panels and Coal Generators are running. Players who arrive on Mars with a charged Energizer can run the Cryo Freezer and Compressor immediately without waiting to build power infrastructure.
Switch to Cryo Fuel as soon as Ice Shards are available. One Cryo Fuel Bucket replaces three regular Fuel Buckets for the same launch, freeing significant rocket inventory space for resources and equipment. Ice Shards from Moon caves are the most accessible source.
Corrupted Lunarians also drop Ice Shards, so a basic mob farm near a Moon base produces Cryo Fuel passively. This shift is particularly impactful for the longer supply runs to Mars and Venus.
Sulfur Creepers on Venus are far more dangerous than their Earth counterparts. Their explosion radius is three times larger and the blast drains Oxygen directly from the Space Suit, making them a serious threat even with good armor. Players working in Venus caves should keep extra Gas Tanks on hand and never engage Sulfur Creepers in enclosed spaces where retreat is limited.
Set up oxygen before placing water on any cold planet. Bringing a Large Gas Tank pre-filled with Oxygen from Earth is the key to getting an oxygen base running efficiently. Use it to seed the Oxygen Distributor, creating enough atmosphere to stop water from freezing on contact.
Once a breathable zone exists, the Water Pump loop stabilizes and the system becomes self-sustaining. Trying to run the loop without seeded oxygen first results in an endless cycle of frozen pipes.
Ad Astra FAQ
The rocket requires exactly 3,000 fuel units placed in the dedicated fuel input slot, not in the general inventory section. Shift-right-click the rocket while standing near it to open the rocket menu. Place Fuel Buckets into the fuel slot on the left side of the interface. Fuel stored in the regular inventory area does not count toward launch fuel.
A Lunarian Wandering Trader may be available to purchase one: they sell Launch Pads for 3 Emeralds at their second trade tier. Wandering Traders appear on every planet, so searching the Moon surface for one is worth trying before accepting the loss. If no Trader is available, the only option is to return to Earth by other means and launch a rescue rocket.
No. Glacio is the only planet in Ad Astra with a natural oxygen atmosphere, so players can remove the Space Suit entirely and breathe outdoors without any life support. Temperature at -20°C does not trigger the mod's temperature damage at baseline settings, so survival without a suit is straightforward on the surface.
Open the Oxygen Distributor's interface and click the "Show" button to render visible oxygen bubbles that reveal exactly where the current distribution boundary reaches. Any gap in the wall, ceiling, or floor will show up as an incomplete boundary. Seal the exposed block and the oxygen level will stabilize. 
Vents are intentional pass-throughs and will let oxygen flow between rooms; remove them if a fully sealed space is the goal.
The TI-69 is a handheld scanner that displays the local oxygen level, ambient temperature, and gravity when held. It reads environmental data rather than the Space Suit's internal tank, making it useful for checking whether a sealed room is actually oxygenated before removing the helmet. It is not required for survival but provides useful diagnostic information during base setup.
By default, rockets can only launch from dimensions recognized as planets. The config option "launchFromAnywhere" can be enabled by a server administrator to allow launching from any dimension, including the Nether and End. With the default setting, only Earth and ad_astra planet dimensions are valid launch points.
