No Man's Sky's new Cosmos update introduces Orbital Bases, letting players construct settlements on habitable asteroids in deep space rather than being restricted to planetary surfaces. This expands the game's long-standing base-building system into a new environment, giving players fresh options for where and how they establish outposts, and ties into the update's broader overhaul of space-based gameplay.

To start, players must enter a star system and use the redesigned Star Chart map, which now shows more detail and points of interest, to locate a habitable asteroid. After landing on one, they place a Deep Space Base Computer, crafted from a Reactor Core, a Viral Heart and a Condensed Stellar Ice, then complete a scan to unlock the asteroid for building; a separate computer is needed for each additional base, and tools can be used to clear debris and free up space. The Cosmos update also allows players to claim and redesign a Space Station and form alliances with other players.