Thanks to its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass, Outer Wilds has quickly become one of the most popular non-AAA games of the summer. The space exploration adventure is built upon a premise that should be stressful, but somehow the repetitive, timed experiences flying around this solar system are nothing, but delightful. The game is packed with mysterious to solve, including how exactly to find and land on the Wandering Moon.
The Outer Wilds Quantum Moon is one of the mysteries established very early in the game for many players (depending on who they decide to talk to). This guide is going to break down a handful of methods for pinning down the mysterious location, so stop reading here if you would rather figure that out on your own.
Outer Wilds mystery spoilers ahead...
The Outer Wild’s Quantum Moon or “Wandering Moon” is a mysterious solar body with the property of shifting locations unless it is being observed. Looking away from the moon causes it to move to a new location. It moves between five locations in the known Outer Wild’s solar system and a sixth unknown location. Discovering new locations throughout the game uncovers clues about the sixth location, but the Quantum Moon is a mystery in itself.
It’s easy to miss, as it looks like a normal moon orbiting a planet. There is nothing strange about it at first glance. You can happen upon the moon in your travels, you can track its location with the Quantum Moon Locator on the Ember Twin’s south pole, or you can try the Giant’s Deep trick.
Travel There Blindly (The Luck Method)
The first method works best if you have been exploring this solar system for a while and are familiar with which planets have permanent moons. Just hop in the spaceship and launch into orbit. Cruise along until you see a moon that doesn’t belong―that it is the Quantum Moon.
Quantum Moon Locator
Option two is the Quantum Moon Locator, which you can find on a plateau on the South Pole of the Ember Twin. The Locator has a series of markers in a concentric circles that line up to point in the current direction of the Quantum Moon. Make sure you’re already in your spaceship and hover over the Locator. The orange indicator is the marker for the Quantum Moon. Wait for this orange indicator to line up with another and lock into place. When the markers have stopped, turn in the direction that the orange indictor is pointing, and that is the direction of the Quantum Moon. Since you are already in your ship, keep the moon in sight and head straight for it.
Giant's Deep Trick
The third option is the Giant’s Deep trick. Enter orbit and idle near the Giant’s Deep. Look away from the planet and back to the Giant’s Deep. Within a few iterations of this back-and-forth trick, the Quantum Moon will appear alongside the Giant’s Deep.
Using whichever method fits your play style, get the Quantum Moon in your sights while in the cockpit of your spacecraft. Confirm the identity of the moon with the signal scope’s Quantum Fluctuations mode. You should see some activity. Another way to confirm that you have the correct moon is to lock onto the planet with the navigation system. With all other objects, locking on will display the name of the object. Locking onto the Quantum Moon will only display the distance and velocity.
How To Land On The Quantum Moon
To land on the Quantum Moon, approach the moon as you would normally approach a planetary body (autopilot recommended). Switching to landing mode technically counts as looking away from the moon. It will vanish and move to a new location, and you will move right through a cloud where the planet used to be. However, looking at a photo of the moon will suffice. Before switching to landing mode, launch the scout. Take a picture of the moon before the scout reaches the planet―you want a picture of the entire moon; not a picture from the surface. Keep this picture on display as you then switch to landing mode and descend onto the surface of the quantum moon.
You will pass through a thick cloud cover, and proceed slowly, as the surface can sneak up on you and there are many jagged peaks. Land the spaceship and prepare to explore. This moon is the key to the secret 6th location.
Be sure to check back in the near future more more Outer Wilds strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, don't forget to roast your marshmallows, astronaut!
Outer Wilds is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.