I drifted over a frozen plain and watched a comet shatter against my Corvette’s hull. For a heartbeat I thought the run was a bust—then the Tractor Beam caught a glowing geode and everything changed. That was the moment I stopped guessing and started farming with purpose.
I’ve spent hours scraping systems since the Cosmos update so you don’t have to waste time. You’ll get clear, repeatable routes to Stellar Ice and Contaminated Metal, and the exact tools that make those runs profitable. Follow me: I’ll point out the traps, the shortcuts, and the thing most players miss on their first pass.
Ice fields glint from orbit like polar deserts on Earth — and the difference is what they hide
You need a Corvette-class starship fitted with the new Tractor Beam. The module sells for about 350,000 credits (≈€350) and requires standard parts to craft. It’s the single biggest quality-of-life change for harvesting resources from floating debris.
How it earns its keep: the Tractor Beam pulls Stellar Geodes from damaged comets and debris so you don’t have to wrestle every fragment with your exosuit. Once you’ve equipped it, open your Star Chart and scan systems until you find a planet flagged as an Ice Field.
On an Ice Field your eye should track for comets that are partly white and partly blue — they stand out against ordinary asteroids. Fly close, switch to on-foot if you want a clearer hit, and destroy the comet cluster to reveal Stellar Geodes. Don’t smash the Geodes themselves; they’re the containers you carry.
Pickup trick: use the Gravitino Coil to haul Geodes back to your Corvette. The Tractor Beam is like a magnet in a junkyard — it does the heavy lifting and keeps you in position while you load up.
When your cargo hold is full, dock at any Trading Outpost and sell the Stellar Geodes to the processing terminal. They’ll convert into Condensed Stellar Ice, a high-value material used in advanced crafting recipes and trade. This turn-in is where most players double their return-per-hour versus raw mining runs.
How do I get Stellar Ice in No Man’s Sky?
Short answer: equip a Corvette with the Tractor Beam, hunt Ice Field comets for Stellar Geodes, then process them at an outpost. The long answer is route planning — chain several Ice Field planets in a single system to avoid long jumps between runs.
Minor wreckage looks insignificant until you blow it open — then it pays off
Space junk appears on your Star Chart as Minor Wreckage with a Space Junk signal. Those pings are more common than you think, and they’re the primary source of Contaminated Metal.
To harvest it you don’t need the Tractor Beam. Fly to the wreckage and use your Mining Tool on the salvage piles. The debris yields Contaminated Metal directly, so there’s no processor trip required. Keep an eye on hostile drones near wrecks; taking them out first saves you time.
Method note: target glows and fractured plating first — they usually contain the highest concentration of contaminated alloys. When you’re running multiple wrecks, slot a terrain manipulator bolt into your hotbar so you can clear access quickly.
Where does Contaminated Metal come from?
Contaminated Metal drops from Space Junk and Minor Wreckage. It’s a staple for certain blueprints and can be traded on markets across platforms like Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. If you’re farming for trade value, check regional market prices at Trading Posts before hoarding; demand fluctuates with weekly missions and community events.
Practical tips I use every run:
- Carry a Gravitino Coil for geode retrieval and a mining upgrade to speed wreck clearing.
- Plan routes: chain Ice Field planets and wreck sites within the same system to reduce warp fuel use.
- Use annotated mission boards and station vendors to spot high-paying trades for Condensed Stellar Ice and Contaminated Metal.
I’ve tested these runs on PC (Steam) and consoles; Hello Games’ balancing means the core loop is the same everywhere. If you want raw credits, Stellar Ice conversions at outposts typically outperform simple scrap runs, but Contaminated Metal keeps you flexible for blueprints and urgent purchases — which will you prioritize next?