The Capsule catcher is the other half of J.O.O.N.A.S. The robot packs the dust it sweeps into capsules and shoots them at the nearest catcher, wherever on the Moon it is working. With no catcher built, J.O.O.N.A.S. fills its bin and waits, so buy the two together: $21,500 for the pair. Its build panel shows no power need, so it does not need solar panels of its own.
J.O.O.N.A.S. fires its dust capsules at the nearest Capsule catcher
Catcher capsules can run by belt into Pressure chambers instead of being sold as dust
Where to send the catcher's dust
The dust it catches can go two ways. Left alone, it goes to the Collector and is paid at once as plain dust. Belted out, the capsules can run into Pressure chambers and Stone presses and sell as sand and stone instead.
- For instant money, leave the catcher on its own; nothing else needs to be connected.
- For more money per kilogram, belt its capsules to a Splitter and feed Pressure chambers and Stone presses from there.
- Size the block to the catcher. Builders run 1 catcher to 3 chambers and 3 presses, 1 to 2 and 5, or 2 to 4 and 8, where eight presses fill the belts.
- Give every chamber and press its own solar power before you connect the catcher, or the block stalls at night.
The comparison of those three layouts is on the automation page.
Capsule catcher capacity in 1.0.4
Patch 1.0.4 raised the catcher's capacity to 100 kg and made the glass show how much dust it is holding, so you can see at a glance whether a production block keeps up. The same patch stopped J.O.O.N.A.S. from flying back to its dock: it now launches capsules from wherever it is cleaning instead of stopping when players move away.