Explorer

Explorer
Risk	Low
Reward	Medium
Time Investment	Large
Suggested Ships	Hauler Adder Asp Explorer Cobra Type-6 Transporter Anaconda
Suggested Ship Upgrades	Discovery Scanner Detailed Surface Scanner Fuel Scoop FSD Upgrades Power Plant AFMU

Click image to enlarge.

Explorers have the opportunity to earn income and gain reputation by making pioneering jumps into unexplored systems, and gathering data on planets, stars and other points of interest within systems. Exploration data can be sold at the Universal Cartographics tab of Starport Services. The first player who sells information about a celestial body will be credited in-game with a "Discovered By" tag on the Galaxy Map.

For example, one station may know about all the planets in a star system, but not have specific information on the planet surface. If you equip your ship with a surface scanner, you can then sell this complementary information for a small price. If you are able to explore a star system where no data has been reported before, and you collect all data on planet names and also surface information etc, then you will get a much bigger reward.

Ships and Equipment

Exploration is only possible with dedicated scanners. A Discovery Scanner is required equipment and the Detailed Surface Scanner is also important to make the most out of exploration.

Aside from this, the key attributes of an exploration ship are range and endurance. A Fuel Scoop is very highly recommended so that you can keep travelling without docking to refuel. Similarly, it is useful to upgrade your fuel tank to a larger model if possible. Also consider using A-rated Power Plant for better heat efficiency while fuel scooping. Additionally having an Auto Field-Maintenance Unit installed is extremely important when performing extremely long distance deep space exploring! One of the main hazards of exploring is close encounters with stars, so one or more Heat Sink Launchers may be helpful.

To increase your jump range, upgrading your Frame Shift Drive for increased jump range is possible. Don't forget though that you can also increase range by removing unnecessary weight. Since pirates can attack even very far from civilized systems, it is advisable to retain some weapons and all your shielding. Obviously, you should equip lasers rather than weapons that require ammunition, as you may be hundreds of light years from the nearest station with rearming capabilities. Heavy weapons and other combat systems like scanners, hatchet breakers, ECM-s and interdictors should all be dispensed with. Furthermore, there is no need for cargo capacity in deep space: you can safely remove your Cargo Racks.

Some possible ships for exploration include:

• Sidewinder. Its capabilities are limited by the fact that there are not enough internal bays for both a surface scanner and a fuel scoop, unless you remove the shield module (not advised). It also suffers from short jump range at just 21.47LY.
• Hauler. The Hauler has superior range to the Adder at 28.55LY when range is maximized, although it's fuel tank is not large, so fuel scooping will be required relatively often.
• Adder. Comes equipped with a large fuel tank as standard. Stripped off all combat-equipment it makes a good exploration and rare-goods vessel with a maximum jump range of 27.4ly.
• Cobra. The Cobra is a distinct step up in range from the smaller ships (down to 26.42LY when maximized). With an optimised drive, Cobras can achieve a range of 26.42LY. Its robust construction and large number of weapon hardpoints are also helpful, but unlikely to be needed as there are very few NPCs outside of inhabited space.
• Asp Explorer. The Asp Explorer is perhaps the ultimate in long-range self-sufficiency. It is large enough that you don't need to make many compromises in equipment selection - you can fit enough weapons to overcome any realistic obstacle alongside massive fuel tanks and auto-repair equipment. The Asp also has the second highest possible jump range at 34.91LY (behind Anaconda at 38.48LY).
• Lakon Type-6. The Type-6 has the advantage of very high unladen range, and has been used successfully in some very long range exploration trips. Prior to v1.2, it famously ran 'hot' - making fuel scooping an even bigger challenge unless a A-rated power plant was used. In v1.2, however, running temperatures were brought more in line with other ships.

It should be noted that far enough from civilized space NPCs are an extreme rarity and eager explorers can bin their weapons to get more jumprange. Also, if travelling to the core, it is advisable to have an Auto Field Maintenance Unit.

Rewards for exploring

The value of exploration data depends on several factors:

• The nature of the celestial object. The most valuable exploration data is on Earth-like planets and on Water Worlds that are candidates for terraforming. The least is on small, rocky and/or icy planets.
• The mass of the celestial object. Heavier objects are somewhat more valuable than ligher objects of the same class.
• The quality of the data. You get some value simply for locating the object with the Discovery Scanner. Scanning it increases this value significantly. Scanning it while your ship has a Detailed Surface Scanner doubles the value of the data you acquire.
• A further 50% bonus if you are the first commander to scan the celestial object with a Detailed Surface Scanner. Additionally, you get your commander name against the object as the "First Discoverer" in the System Map screen.
• The distance from the system explored doesn't appear to have any effect. However, you can't sell any data at stations within 20 ly from its source.

Approximate Exploration Values (with DSS*)

Body	Approx Value
Stars
Class O, B, A, F, G, K, M, L, T, Y	2,400 CR*
Black Hole	38,000 - 50,000 CR*
Neutron Star	36,000 - 38,000 CR*
Neutron Star (Not surface scanned)	~ 6,500 CR
White Dwarf	22,000 CR*
Wolf-Rayet Star	4,000 - 6,500 CR*
Carbon Star	2,400 CR*
Protostar - (Herbig Ae/Be, T-Tauri)	2,400 CR*
Planets & Moons
Belt Cluster, Planetary Ring	0
Gas Giant	1,500 - 3,000 CR*
Rocky and/or Icy Planets	500 - 1,000 CR*
High Metal Content Planets	4,200 - 7,000 CR*
Metal-Rich Planets	9,000 - 14,000 CR*
Water World	18,000 - 36,000 CR*
With terraforming potential (cumulative with the above planets)	+ 30,000 CR*
Ammonia World	35,000 CR*
Earth-like World	60,000 CR*
* May be outdated since v1.2.03

* DSS = Detailed Surface Scanner

Ranks

-Note- Some of these values are for versions up to 1.1 and need updating for 1.2. The values are also approximate since they cannot be confirmed directly through the game -Note-

The player may gain exploration ranks based upon the amount of money made by selling cartographic data acquired in exploration.

Rank	Profit Required
Aimless	0
Mostly Aimless	10,000*
Scout	184,141*
Surveyor	1,100,000
Trailblazer	2,400,000
Pathfinder	5,500,000
Ranger	12,000,000
Pioneer	51,800,000
Elite	157,500,000
* May be outdated since v1.2.03

Tips for Exploring

Pay close attention to your destination systems in the Galaxy Map. The best systems are those in classes F, G and K - that is to say, the most Sol-like systems. Classes O, B and A are likely to be too young to have good planets to explore, while classes L and M and below are very cool so where they have planets, they are likely to be low value ice and rock-ice worlds. Multiple systems are a risky bet - firstly they may be less likely to have planets - and if they do, they may be a long distance away. T Tauri-type stars almost never have planets.

Also bear in mind how well a destination star will fare with your Fuel Scoop. Cooler stars are easier to scoop fuel from without overheating, while classes F and above can be dangerously hot. Fuel scooping will only work with main sequence stars (A, B, F, G, K, M, O).

You can look at the system map as soon as you have fired your Discovery Scanner on entering a system. This will show images of stars and planets, including the unexplored ones, and some basic information like their mass and distance from the star. This can help you identify good prospects. Blue planets are often valuable, while featureless white disks are typically ice worlds of no value.

Also, in many systems (particularly smaller, cooler ones) it is possible to combine scanning and fuel-scooping. Simply submerge yourself in the stellar gases and start to scoop, allowing a healthy margin of safety (e.g. keeping yourself at ~60% heat). Then you can scan nearby objects up to ~50 ls while your tanks are refilling.

Notes

• Exploration data can not be sold within 20 LY from the explored system.
• Data is lost if the player's ship is destroyed.
• Data transfers when the player switches to a different ship.

Gallery

Exploration tutorials for Elite Dangerous 1.03