Aurora (Ship)

The Aurora is an Alterra Corporation Long-Range Capital Ship and the central landmark of the original Subnautica. Its crash on Planet 4546B is the event that strands the player, Ryley Robinson, on the alien ocean world. The wreck is visible from almost anywhere on the map and serves as a major exploration location.

Specifications

Mission

The Aurora's primary mission was phasegate construction in the Ariadne Arm of the galaxy, extending Alterra's faster-than-light travel network. Its secondary mission was to search for the Degasi, a ship that had disappeared in the same sector approximately ten years earlier.

The crash

As the Aurora passed near Planet 4546B, the Quarantine Enforcement Platform (an Architect weapon on Mountain Island) fired an energy beam that struck the ship, causing catastrophic damage. Captain Hollister manually controlled the descent to minimize casualties, dying in the process. Of 50 lifepods, 25 managed to deploy. Ryley Robinson escaped in Lifepod 5 and was the only occupant to survive on the planet's surface.

The wreck

The Aurora's wreck sits partially above the waterline on the eastern edge of the map, in a region called the Crash Zone. The ship broke into multiple sections on impact. The intact portion of the hull is explorable once the player obtains a Radiation Suit and Laser Cutter.

Inside the wreck, players can find:

• Prawn Suit blueprints (from fragments in the cargo bay)

• Seamoth and Cyclops fragments

• The Captain's quarters with Hollister's personal logs

• The drive room with four radiation leaks that must be repaired with the Repair Tool

• Data terminals and PDA logs documenting the crew's final hours

• Various high-tier resources and crafting materials

Radiation

The Aurora's damaged nuclear reactor leaks radiation in a wide radius around the wreck. Players without a Radiation Suit take damage when approaching. Repairing the four breaches in the drive room stops the radiation leak permanently.

Reaper Leviathans

The Crash Zone surrounding the Aurora is patrolled by 11 Reaper Leviathans, the highest concentration of any biome in the game. Exploring the Aurora wreck often results in terrifying encounters with Reapers, making it one of the most tense locations in the original Subnautica.

The Sunbeam

A rescue ship called the Sunbeam received the Aurora's distress signal and traveled to Planet 4546B. When it attempted to land on Mountain Island, the Quarantine Enforcement Platform shot it down just as it had the Aurora. If the player is present on the island, they witness the destruction. The event drives home the danger of the QEP and motivates the player to find a way to deactivate it.