Moon Sweepers JOONAS Guide: Capsule Catcher Setup in 1.0.4

01Start with the 1.0.4 changes

JOONAS, also written J.O.O.N.A.S., is an autonomous cleaner that moves between sectors. If an older guide tells you to stay beside it or wait for repeated dock trips, check your game version first: those details changed in 1.0.4.

Checked October 26: 1.0.4 is the latest patch listed in the official news feed. It launched October 25 at 20:47 UTC. The developer says JOONAS now works without nearby players, cleans a hex from the outside inward, navigates around buildings, and skips hexes it cannot reach. It also launches capsules while moving toward its next sector.

02Follow the dust from JOONAS to your base

JOONAS cleaning a sector is only the first part of the job. Its dust still needs to reach a catcher and move through your base. Treat those as separate stages when setting up a route or diagnosing a slowdown.

1. 01

   Find the catcher the robot will actually use

   The official rule is the nearest Capsule Catcher. Check its position relative to the working robot, rather than assuming a newly built catcher will receive the next capsule.

2. 02

   Watch one complete delivery

   Observe JOONAS collecting dust and launching a capsule. Follow where it lands, then watch the catcher's outgoing route. This gives you a specific place to investigate if dust stops moving.

3. 03

   Check the route to its destination

   Trace the conveyors toward your Depot or processing line. Check the first connection where capsules stop, and inspect the receiving machine instead of rebuilding the entire route.

4. 04

   Check capacity before expanding

   The 1.0.4 catcher holds 100 kg and its glass shows collected dust. If deliveries arrive but the catcher stays full, inspect its output and downstream line before buying another cleaner.

03Why several robots feed the same catcher

Nearest does not mean evenly distributed. The patch notes specify the nearest catcher; they do not promise round-robin delivery or automatic selection of an empty catcher. Two robots working close together can therefore feed the same part of your base.

An October 26 Steam discussion describes this exact bottleneck: adding inputs to a factory did not make JOONAS divide its deliveries among them. Use catcher position and the observed capsule route to plan your layout. Adding a second catcher alone is not evidence that the workload has been split.

Watch the route again as JOONAS moves to new sectors. The relevant distance is between the robot and the catchers, so a setup that served one working area may behave differently farther across the Moon.

04JOONAS not working? Match the symptom

On October 24 the developer acknowledged that JOONAS could stop when players moved away. Version 1.0.4 explicitly changes that behavior. Standing beside it should not be a normal requirement in this version; if the problem persists, record the version and what the robot does before and after you leave.

05Moving loose capsules after a belt change

If removing a conveyor leaves capsules on the ground, the confirmed handling change is simple: since 1.0.3, you can place a carried capsule onto a belt at the point you are aiming. Try an accessible belt segment before changing the rest of the line.

A current Steam thread asks about moving many capsules at once, but the official notes checked here do not document a bulk-move or delete-all control. Plan belt changes after the segment has emptied where possible. This avoids turning a small layout adjustment into a large collection job.