The quota is met, and the crew is standing on the ship with hours left in the day.
This is the moment where runs are won or thrown away, because the pressure is off and the two options look equally reasonable.
What the remaining hours are worth
Once the quota clears, the money you have is banked. Nothing you do next can un-earn it.
What can still be lost is equipment — the shovel, the lights, the radio, anything expensive you bought this cycle. A death does not undo the quota. It costs you the gear, and the gear is what made clearing the quota possible.
So the remaining hours are worth exactly as much as the equipment they risk.
Option one: stop
Landing again is optional. Staying on the ship is a legitimate choice, especially if the crew is short on lights or the next day’s quota is small.
The crews that do this on purpose are usually the ones who plan to buy something expensive tomorrow and do not want to risk it tonight.
Option two: one more short trip
The better default, if the crew is equipped and confident.
A short trip on a cheap moon with a light, a shovel and a clear turnaround adds money with almost no risk. That money buys tomorrow’s equipment, which makes tomorrow’s quota easier, which is the whole compounding engine of the game.
The rules for the extra trip are the same as any other: shallow rooms, light high-ratio scrap, first exit, fixed length. It is a bonus trip, not a main trip.
Option three: buy the expensive thing
If the crew has been saving toward a radar booster, a zap gun or a jetpack, this is the window to buy it.
Two cautions. First, buy it only if tomorrow’s plan includes using it, because gear that sits in the store is money you could have spent on lights. Second, remember that the jetpack kills people — the jetpack guide covers why falling is the actual risk.
What not to do with the remaining hours
- Do not run a long deep trip. The quota is already met, so there is nothing to gain and equipment to lose.
- Do not go to an expensive moon. Travel costs credits and the trip is long. Both are pure downside tonight.
- Do not split the crew to cover more ground. A bonus trip with a split crew is how you spend tomorrow re-equipping.
- Do not stay out until dark. The night guide explains what changes, and none of it is in your favour.
The habit that compounds
Experienced crews treat the post-quota hours as tomorrow’s budget.
A short safe trip tonight means a better-equipped crew tomorrow, which means an easier quota, which means more post-quota hours the day after. That loop is the difference between crews that grind and crews that climb.
The crews that treat the quota as a finish line spend every day starting from the same place.
Related guides
- How to make money fast — the daily version of this strategy.
- Best equipment tier list — what the extra money should actually buy.
- How to recover from a bad run — the opposite problem.