Approximately Up Guide
Community fixGuide checked 2026-08-20Game version checked 2026-08-20

Player-reported guidance: not reproduced here in the current build.

I keep overshooting or crashing on the Moon

First actionApproach while watching velocity instead of distance alone.

Check nextYour speed reduces before the surface demands a last-second correction.

If the Moon keeps rushing past or filling the whole screen, your approach needs a braking burn, not a universal speed target or an assumed Braking Point System unlock.

Quick answer

Try this first

Watch your velocity as you approach. Turn the ship so the main engines point against your direction of travel, then use short burns to reduce speed before landing. If the Braking Point System is not available to you yet, rehearse this approach without it.

  1. 1

    Approach while watching velocity instead of distance alone.

  2. 2

    Turn the ship before the Moon fills the view.

  3. 3

    Burn opposite your direction of travel to slow down.

  4. 4

    Use short corrections near the surface; do not copy another ship's exact speed.

Visual orientation

Turn the thrust against your travel direction

Explain the reverse-burn concept without asserting a universal braking distance or game HUD state.

Original orbital diagram showing a ship turning its engines opposite to its direction of travel before approaching a moon.
Original orientation diagramOriginal orientation diagram, not a flight recording. It shows the idea of braking, not a fixed speed or turn point.Open full-size diagram

What is happening

Your ship changes the braking distance

Mass and thrust change where the turn and braking burn need to start. Community speed figures come from different ships, so they are useful examples, not universal settings.

Troubleshooting

If that does not solve it

  • Try the same route twice with the same ship before changing several parts.
  • Write down mass, propulsion, battery, velocity, and where you began the turn.
  • Treat the Braking Point System as a separate setup after it is unlocked.

Before you switch paths

Carry three signals forward.

A changed guide is easier to test when it starts from the exact point where this one stopped.

  1. 01
    Current game version and active mission

    Old values can describe a different build or objective.

  2. 02
    The part, input, or control path that failed

    Use the current in-game name and note the ports or axis involved.

  3. 03
    What happened after the first action

    Record one observed result before changing several things at once.

These notes describe your own run; they do not turn a community report into current-game proof.

Confidence

What is confirmed

The braking method is community-reported. This site has not yet repeated the route in the current build with one recorded ship.

  • Overshooting and crash-landing remain active player problems.
  • A current player thread shows that the Braking Point System can be a perceived progression blocker before a first Moon landing; this site has not verified the exact unlock order.
  • Community speed figures are ship-specific, not universal settings.
Sources and version notes

Game-version context checked 2026-08-20: Full release 1.0.012; route not yet reproduced first-party

  • Approximately Up - official Steam News feedConfirms the most recently named patch, 1.0.012, and a later official roadmap announcement. Roadmap items are not current features or first-party reproduction of guide steps.
  • Has anyone been able to use Braking Point System reliably?Establishes BPS reliability and calibration questions.
  • Brake System Locked Behind Moon Landing?A public 2026-08-20 recheck of a May player thread where the poster cannot estimate Moon braking before an assisting brake tool appears available. The marked answer gives ship-specific figures, so this site uses the thread only to confirm the active no-BPS player problem and keeps its own no-magic-speed boundary. Community evidence only; the game progression order and control behavior were not reproduced by this site.
  • Need help - landing on the MoonA dated 2026-08-12 community-index snapshot showed overshoot and crash-landing demand; this is not a stable permalink to one thread.
  • no shipmentsA public 2026-08-20 recheck of a May player thread: several replies agree that crates are small flashing ground objects and radar needs closer zoom; one reply adds a safe nearby landing and jetpack/on-foot inspection if hovering does not reveal the crate. Community evidence only; no current-build reproduction was performed by this site.
  • Approximately Up: Moon Landing TutorialProvides a pre-full-release visual walkthrough with chapters for ship setup, approach, braking, descent, and landing; exact full-release behavior remains unverified.