To place capsules on conveyors in Moon Sweepers, pack your dust into a capsule with Q, pick the capsule up so you are carrying it, look at the belt and put it down where you aim. Patch 1.0.3 (October 24, 2026) added exactly this: while carrying a capsule, you can put it onto a belt right where you aim. The belt then carries it to wherever it leads, such as the station intake or a processing machine.
Before 1.0.3, players had to throw capsules at the belt or lower the belt so a placed capsule would land on it. If an old guide tells you to throw, that still works, but aiming and placing is now the cleaner method.
For more than a handful of capsules, hand loading is slow. A Packager ($100) takes all the dust you carry in one interaction and sends it out as capsules, so it is the better choice once you load belts often.
What a Dust Capsule Is
A capsule is the portable form of dust. Your cleaning tool fills up as you brush, and pressing Q packs that dust into a capsule you can carry, throw or deposit.
Points worth knowing before you start loading belts:
- Capsule size: players report each hand-packed capsule holds 1 kg of dust. One streamer noted they could only throw one kilogram at a time, so a 12 kg tool load means a dozen capsules.
- Tool capacity is separate: a bigger broom or capacity upgrade lets you collect more before packing, but it does not make each capsule bigger.
- Auto Packer: this upgrade's description says that when your container fills during cleaning, the tool packs a capsule at your feet automatically. You still have to move those capsules yourself.
- Machine capsules: Robot Vacuum docks, the garage silo and the Packager create capsules and put them onto belts on their own. Hand placement is only needed for capsules you packed yourself.
A full broom shows the Q prompt to pack its dust into a capsule.
Put a Capsule on a Belt Step by Step (Patch 1.0.3)
- Build a conveyor that leads somewhere useful, ideally the station intake. A belt with an open end just collects capsules.
- Clean until your tool has dust, then press Q to pack a capsule.
- Pick the capsule up so you are carrying it.
- Walk close to the belt and aim at the spot on the belt where you want it.
- Put it down. It should sit on the belt and start moving with the arrows.
- Wait a moment before placing the next one so they do not pile onto the same spot.
- Repeat for the rest of your load.
Watch the first capsule all the way to its destination. If it enters the station intake, your balance should rise when it arrives. On 1.0.3, dust and stone arriving by belt are paid as they come in.
Make Placement Easier with Belt Height and Position
Where and how high the belt runs decides how easy it is to load.
- Lower the loading section. Before 1.0.3, a player tip was that a lower belt accepts a capsule you place without a throw. On PC, players report Ctrl plus the mouse wheel changes belt height while you build.
- Put a loading stretch near your work. One video guide suggests running about 90 to 100 m of belt out from the base, so you load close to where you clean instead of walking home.
- Keep the loading stretch straight and clear. A bend or a junction right where you drop capsules makes them bunch up.
- Raise the rest of the line. Away from the loading spot, belts can be lifted high enough for vehicles to drive underneath, then lowered again before the station.
The aim is a short, low, straight stretch you can walk up to, with the rest of the belt routed however the terrain needs.
Placing vs Throwing Capsules
Throwing still works and is sometimes faster when the belt is a few steps away. It is less precise.
| Method | How it works | Best for | Downside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aim and place (1.0.3) | Carry the capsule, aim at the belt, put it down | Reliable loading of a few capsules | One capsule at a time |
| Throw | Throw the carried capsule at the belt | Belts just out of reach | Capsules can miss and land on the ground |
| Lowered belt drop | Place the capsule onto a low belt section | Players on older builds | Needs the belt built low on purpose |
One streamer who tried to dump a stack of capsules at a belt entrance found that none of them made it onto the belt and they had to be picked up again. Another noticed that putting capsules on too quickly made the belt behave unpredictably. Space your capsules out.
Two upgrades in the logistics part of the upgrade list affect capsule handling, as their descriptions were read out on stream:
| Upgrade | Described effect |
|---|---|
| Capsule Tether | A magnetic tether that lets you pick up capsules from further away |
| Throw Assist | Aim-assisting arm servos that throw capsules further |
Both make throwing and collecting easier, but neither replaces a well-placed belt.
Load Many Capsules Without Jams
Belts move capsules slowly. One player watching their first hand-loaded line said it very slowly takes them on a journey before they reach the station. That speed is fine, but it means rushing the loading only creates a pile.
- Place one capsule, let it move clear, then place the next.
- Load along the belt rather than on one spot if it is long enough.
- Do not stack capsules at the very start of the belt.
- If capsules end up on the ground, pick them up and place them again.
When you are regularly loading a full tool's worth of capsules, the job is better handed to a machine.
Hand Loading vs Packager vs Robot Dock
| Option | Cost | What you do | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand placement | Belt only, $0.50 per meter | Pack with Q and place each capsule | Early game, small loads, testing a new line |
| Packager | $100 | Interact with E once to unload your tool | You clean by hand far from the station |
| Robot Vacuum dock | $250 (Mk I) or $500 (Mk II) | Nothing; the dock packs capsules onto its belt | You want the area cleaned without you |
One streamer weighed it plainly: a Packager costs $100, while placing packages on the belt by hand is free. Hand placement is the cheapest way to start using belts. The Packager wins once your time matters more than the $100.
Where the Belt Should Lead
A capsule on a belt only becomes money if the belt ends somewhere that accepts it.
- Station intake: the outside belt entrance on the station building. Capsules that reach it are paid on arrival on 1.0.3.
- Pressure Chamber: turns dust into Moon Sand worth three times dust. Its input is the side without the handle, and it needs 10 kW of power.
- Stone Press: needs raw dust and Moon Sand on separate inputs and 18 kW of power.
Hand-placed dust capsules can feed any of these. For capsules of processed material, reports are mixed. One streamer found they could not carry sand capsules but could still throw them, and an early troubleshooting page suggested selling sand and stone by hand at the station when belts did not credit them. The 1.0.3 note now says stone arriving by belt is paid; sand is not named. Test a small batch before relying on it.
Troubleshooting Capsules That Will Not Go on the Belt
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No option to place on the belt | Game older than 1.0.3 | Update; until then throw or use a low belt |
| Capsule drops on the ground | Aimed beside the belt or too far away | Move closer and aim at the belt surface |
| Capsule sits still on the belt | Belt end reached or section not joined | Check arrows and connections downstream |
| Capsules pile up at the start | Placed faster than the belt moves | Space them out |
| Capsules arrive but no money | Belt does not end inside the station intake | Extend the last section into the intake |
| Crewmate cannot load your belt | Players on different versions | Everyone must be on 1.0.3 to play together |
If a capsule is moving but never sells, the problem is at the far end of the belt, not at the loading spot. Follow it until it stops.
Upgrades That Speed Up Manual Deposits Instead
If you still carry most capsules into the station rather than onto belts, two more upgrades from the same list are relevant. As read out on stream, Express Dock makes deposits take half the time, and Rapid Transfer gives faster dust valves so deposits at stations and collectors finish sooner. They help the manual route, while belts remove it.
A simple rule for this stage of the game: place capsules on a belt by hand while you learn and test lines, buy a Packager once hand loading becomes a chore, and move to Robot Vacuum docks once you want dust to arrive without you.