Approximately Up Missions Walkthrough

Missions in Approximately Up turn sandbox building into progression. Completing objectives unlocks parts, fills inventory, and opens routes to Moonstep and beyond. The demo ships with hours of mission content; the full August 2026 release expands to more planets. This walkthrough covers the missions players hit first: ice cream delivery to Moonstep, lost package retrieval, and mountain cargo runs — plus how color coding, package sizes, and power requirements shape your ship design.

Prepare with Getting Started, a flyable hull from Build Your First Ship, and Moon Landing knowledge before orange-tier lunar deliveries.

How missions work

Open objectives with O or interact with mission terminals at headquarters and Moonstep. Missions do not always require explicit acceptance — track active goals on the objectives screen and follow radar markers.

Difficulty colors guide order:

Color	Typical focus	Examples
Green	Single mechanic tutorials	Short hops, basic retrieval
Orange	Multi-system runs	Powered cargo, lunar delivery
Red / advanced	Long routes, tight constraints	Community challenges, timed runs

Rewards land in your inventory — new frames, logic blocks, floodlights, RCS parts, and batteries. Missing a reward often means the mission failed a hidden constraint (power, temperature, timer).

Mission 1: Lost package near headquarters

Objective: A supply package missed headquarters due to trajectory error. Use radar to locate the lost shipment, retrieve it, and return safely.

Key details:

• Package size 1.2 × 1.2 × 1.2 — fits through a small gate on your ship
• Contains basic components for early progression
• Teaches radar targeting and manual cargo handling (E interact)

Ship tips: Build a cargo bay with a small gate opening before accepting harder hauls. Verify you can walk or seat-interact with crates inside the hull. Practice Controls for cargo pickup.

Walkthrough steps:

1. Launch (R) and follow radar blip
2. Land near package; exit seat if needed
3. Pick up crate; secure inside bay
4. Return to headquarters pad
5. Complete turn-in; check I inventory for unlocked parts

Mission 2: Lost package in snowy mountains

Variant of the retrieval template with farther terrain and rougher landing approach. Same 1.2×1.2×1.2 dimension constraint.

Ship tips: Add RCS thrusters for tight mountain pads; consider Hover Logic for slow descent. Electric thrusters suffice on Earth; test power routing so radar and RCS stay fed during hover — see Power and Data Routing.

Mission 3: Ice cream freezer to Moonstep

Objective: Deliver an ice cream freezer to Moonstep while keeping it powered and frozen the entire journey.

Why it matters: Orange-tier mission combining Earth launch, trans-lunar navigation, Moon landing with atmospheric thrusters, and continuous cargo power. If the freezer warms, the mission fails — flavor meltdown and progress reset.

Walkthrough steps:

1. Pick up freezer at headquarters; mount or secure inside ship
2. Branch a dedicated power cable from battery/router to freezer — do not share a cockpit switch that cuts cargo power
3. Ascend from Earth; coast to Moon with RCS corrections; watch RCS battery lights
4. Switch to atmospheric thrusters for low lunar approach (Moon has atmosphere)
5. Land at Moonstep; keep power connected until objective completes

Hints from in-game text: Use a stable power supply; hint explicitly mentions plugging the freezer in. Test power draw in garage (G) with debug meters before committing.

Co-op: one pilot, one power monitor — Co-op Guide.

Package missions and dimensions

Many cargo missions specify dimensions so you design gates and bays correctly:

• 1.2×1.2×1.2 standard small crate — plan small gate blocks
• Larger rewards in full game may need expanded bays — watch Updates for new mission sizes

Walk cargo through gates manually if autopilot docking is not unlocked — interaction (E) is part of the loop.

Unlock path and part rewards

Mission chains unlock:

• Advanced data routers and math blocks for Hover Logic
• RCS components after early flight tutorials
• Floodlights from package rewards like Chasing Fire — useful for underwater/full-game egg hunts teased in community events
• Blueprint access (B) as progression advances

Compare new parts on the Tier List before rebuilding entire ships — often one upgraded router beats a whole new frame.

Moonstep and follow-on content

Moonstep is the lunar hub — Fred, community scoreboards, and event missions like no-frame challenges. After ice cream delivery, explore Moonstep terminals for new objectives. The June 6, 2026 Fred’s Star finale adds demo endgame content on Oldara — see Fred’s Star finale for the last mission before full release. Full game adds Fred’s eel-egg ocean planet arc requiring hybrid ship/submarine builds.

Mission 4: Fred’s Star finale (demo endgame)

Objective: Help Fred confront a rogue blue star threatening the system — the capstone mission added in the final demo patch.

Why it matters: Combines long-range navigation, scanner/tower objectives on Oldara, and crisis-time flying unlike package runs. Press O and follow radar/scanner markers; review Radar and Navigation and Time Rewind before launch — some events ban rewind.

Walkthrough outline:

1. Unlock Moonstep and core lunar skills via ice cream delivery
2. Read mission briefing at Moonstep or headquarters terminal
3. Fit radar, monitor, and stable power routing for scanner puzzles
4. Fly to Oldara; use tower/charging objectives per in-game markers
5. Complete finale cutscene and event rewards before August 2026 full release

Co-op recommended: pilot + monitor spotter + builder on standby — Co-op Guide.

Mission failure troubleshooting

Failure	Likely cause
Mission melted	Freezer lost power mid-flight
Package not detected	Crate outside bay or wrong pad
Cannot fit cargo	Gate smaller than 1.2 m — resize bay
Radar no ping	Launch fly mode; ensure radar powered
Lunar approach overshoot	See Moon Landing guide — brake earlier

Recommended mission order

1. Earth retrieval (headquarters)
2. Mountain retrieval
3. Short Earth flight tutorials from Getting Started
4. RCS and hover upgrades
5. Ice cream to Moonstep
6. Fred’s Star finale on Oldara (Fred’s Star guide)
7. Optional community timed challenges (No Frame Challenge — no time rewind)

Use Thrust Calculator when missions add mass — freezers and batteries change hover margins.

Related guides

• Moon Landing Guide — required for Moonstep deliveries
• Build Your First Ship — cargo bay sizing early
• Hover Logic — stable pad approach under load
• Planets Map — Earth, Moon, Oldara, and upcoming worlds
• Fred’s Star finale — demo endgame mission
• Radar and Navigation — package and station blips

Missions are Approximately Up’s curriculum. Each orange card is a design exam — power routing, atmosphere-aware thrust, and cargo care. Pass ice cream to Moonstep and your garage graduates from toy rockets to real spacecraft.