- Clean the Moon base building revolves around three pillars: power, dust processing, and upgrade priority
- Solar power is life: build extra panels and batteries before expanding production, or nighttime stalls everything
- Pressure chambers multiply profits: processed sand sells for far more than raw dust
- Economy upgrades pay for themselves: launch payout and region bounty boosts compound quickly
- Automate early: conveyor splitters, mergers, and stone presses turn dust into a seven-times-value product
Clean the Moon Base Fundamentals
Your Moon base is the heart of every run in Clean the Moon. A well-planned base converts collected lunar dust into saleable products, funds better sweepers, and eventually powers full automation. A poorly planned base, on the other hand, wastes daylight hours and leaves you broke during the long lunar night cycles.
The base loop is simple: collect dust by sweeping tiles, deposit it at a station collector, process it into higher-value goods, and launch it for cash. Every improvement you buy should shorten one of those steps.
| Base Module | Function | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Station collector | Accepts dust deposits from tools and vehicles | ★★★★★ |
| Solar panels | Generate power during lunar daytime | ★★★★★ |
| Batteries | Store power to run machines overnight | ★★★★ |
| Pressure chamber | Converts dust into sand (higher sale value) | ★★★★ |
| Stone press | Combines dust and sand into moonstone blocks | ★★★★ |
| Conveyor belts / splitters / mergers | Move materials between machines | ★★★ |
Lunar nights are long. If your machines and batteries cannot sustain production through the dark hours, your income stops completely. Always over-provision power before adding new machines.
Dust Processing Production Line
The single biggest income jump in Clean the Moon comes from processing dust instead of selling it raw. A pressure chamber converts moon dust into sand at a fixed rate, and a stone press then combines dust and sand into moonstone blocks worth roughly seven times the raw dust value.
Video Highlights:
- A single pressure chamber processes only about 25 kg of dust per minute, which is far less than a mid-tier sweeper can collect
- Stone presses consume both dust and sand, so keep both belts running into the correct input sides
- Two stone presses can be fed by roughly four pressure chambers, making that ratio a solid expansion target
Conveyor capacity limits how much your factory can process. Before buying more machines, check whether your existing belts are already running near full — if they are, extra chambers will simply sit idle.
A balanced production line looks like this:
| Stage | Input | Output | Approx. Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collector | Swept dust | Raw dust on belts | Varies by vehicle |
| Pressure chamber | Dust | Sand | ~5 kg per 12 seconds |
| Stone press | 1 kg dust + 1 kg sand | 2 kg moonstone | 1 block per 6 seconds |
| Launch sale | Moonstone / sand | Cash | 7x / 3x dust value |
Use splitters to divide one dust line across multiple chambers, and mergers to combine outputs into a single sale line. Raising belts with height controls lets vehicles drive underneath, keeping your base navigable as it grows.
Step-by-Step Base Setup
Secure Power First
Place solar panels near your collector with room to expand, and add batteries early. Aim for enough stored charge to keep your first pressure chamber running through the entire night cycle.
Build Your First Pressure Chamber
Run a conveyor from the collector output into the chamber, and a second belt from the chamber to the sale point. Verify input and output sides face the right direction before connecting belts.
Buy Economy Upgrades
Prioritize launch payout increases and region bounties. These raise income on every single launch and every cleared region, paying back their cost within a few cycles.
Expand with Splitters and Mergers
Split your dust line to feed additional chambers, then merge outputs. Add one chamber plus one solar panel at a time so power demand never outpaces supply.
Add Stone Presses
Once sand flows steadily, install stone presses consuming both dust and sand. Moonstone's high sale value makes this the strongest mid-game income source.
A reliable cadence: every time you bank enough for one machine, buy the machine, a solar panel, and any leftover capacity into batteries. This keeps power and production growing at the same pace.
Upgrade Priority Recommendations
Upgrades in Clean the Moon span several categories — cleaning width, movement speed, logistics, vehicle tuning, and economy. Not all are equal, and some (like tool container upgrades) do not apply to vehicles at all.
Economy Upgrades
- Launch payout boosts (6-12% tiers)
- Region bounty per cleared region
- Lunar exchange seat for best launch prices
- Best overall return on investment
Cleaning Upgrades
- Wider cleaning heads per stroke
- Servo stride for faster movement
- Faster dust valves at stations
- Great for hand-tool sweeping phases
Vehicle Upgrades
- Tuned motors and turbo kits
- Bigger hoppers for more dust per trip
- Separate track from tool upgrades
- Skip minor upgrades, save for the next vehicle tier
| Upgrade | Cost Tier | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch payout +6% / +12% | Low | ★★★★★ | Applies to every launch |
| Region bounty | Low-Mid | ★★★★★ | Stacks with each region cleared |
| Dust compactor (+15% containers) | Mid | ★★ | Hand tools only, not vehicles |
| Ride-on sweeper | Mid | ★★★★ | 500 kg hopper, big collection boost |
| Larger sweepers (lunar / mega) | High | ★★★★ | Save directly instead of double-buying |
| Automation drone | Very high | ★★★★★ | Cleans tiles autonomously late game |
Some upgrades have unclear scope. A cheap container upgrade may only affect hand tools. If a description is ambiguous, test with a small purchase before committing to the full upgrade chain.
Base Expansion Checklist
Moon Base Milestones:
- Power grid runs all machines through a full night cycle
- At least four pressure chambers processing dust into sand
- Two stone presses producing moonstone continuously
- Launch payout and region bounty upgrades installed
- Ride-on sweeper or larger vehicle purchased
- Belts raised so vehicles can drive underneath the factory
Long-term goals include duplicating your entire production setup at a second station to double throughput, and saving for the autonomous cleaning drone that sweeps tiles and ejects dust to collectors on its own. Remember that stations are spread far apart — often thousands of meters — so scout east, south, and west from your starting station before committing to a second base site.
Press M to open the map and zoom out. Cleared regions show green while touched areas show blue — use this to plan efficient sweeping routes and find the nearest unclaimed station.
FAQ
Q: Why do my machines stop working at night in Clean the Moon?
Machines draw power continuously, and solar panels only generate during lunar daytime. If your batteries run out overnight, production halts. Add more solar panels and batteries so stored charge covers the full night cycle.
Q: Should I sell raw dust or process it first?
Always process when possible. Sand sells for about three times raw dust value, and moonstone blocks from the stone press sell for roughly seven times. The processing chain is the core of a profitable base.
Q: Do tool upgrades apply to sweepers and vehicles?
Generally no. Container and cleaning-head upgrades typically affect hand tools only, while vehicles have their own separate upgrade track in the garage. Test cheap upgrades before buying the full chain.
Q: How do I deal with belt throughput limits?
If belts are running full and machines sit starved, split your dust output across multiple belt lines using splitters, or process excess dust into stone so fewer belts carry more value per kilogram.