Research Sample

Research Samples, also known as Harvestables, are renewable consumables in Astroneer which grow on some plants and rocks, or found on backpacks of dead explorers. Upon activation, the player receives a random amount of bytes, which varies between sample types. Samples can be researched in a Research Chamber, yielding 3× as many bytes, but very slowly. After being harvested, the Research Sample will respawn within 2-3 minutes. Growbeds, both plants and rocks, have between 1 and 5 slots, with each slot having its own respawn timer. Research Samples will not respawn if their growbed is uprooted. However, the growbed may have a valuable research item underneath which can be accessed by uprooting the growbed, or carefully digging from a side to avoid the uprooting.

Samples found on deeper cave levels, or on "harder" planets, yield more bytes. These factors stack; samples found in Glacio or Atrox caves typically yield 300-400 bytes. This increases to over 800 bytes near the core of Glacio.

Types of Samples

 * Organic: Found on plants scattered across the planets. Gives between 1 to 30 bytes.
 * Mineral: Found on rock formations on surfaces and in caves of planets. Gives between 30 to 130 bytes.
 * Technology: A rare sample that is found around Wrecks or in EXO Dynamics Research Aids. Gives significantly more bytes than organic or mineral samples.