Expeditions

File:ED Expeditions Visual History.jpg

ED Expeditions Visual History

An expedition is a community-driven event where a large group of pilots journey together to distant locations across the galaxy. A big expedition can have thousands of participants. These can be independent pilots or squadrons. The duration is usually a few weeks or months. Logistics are very important for the success of an expedition. It requires planning, organizing, and management of all resources and processes. The number of participants often declines along the way due to abandonment.

History

The big expeditions outside of inhabited space began in 3301. They became prevalent in 3302 after the success of the first major expedition, Distant Worlds. Over 20 expeditions were organized in 3302. These had various sizes and goals to explore the galaxy. 3303 had an even greater number of expeditions.

Join

Expeditions are usually open to the public via the official ED forums, squadron website, on EDSM or Discord.

List of expeditions

Here are some popular expeditions. EDSM has a comprehensive list.

Expedition name	Date	Participants (official)	Completed	Abandoned	Starting system	Arrival system	Description
August Exodus - Jaunt to Jaques	3302 (2016)	168	53	115	Ocshooit	He Xians	When a lone cyborg bartender NPC named Jaques attempted to misjump his station across the galaxy and accidentally got stranded 22,000 light-years away, players organized immediate, massive rescue expeditions. This fleet hauled meta-alloys and structural supplies to repair his station, establishing what is now known as Colonia—humanity's second major bubble of civilization.
Distant Worlds	3302 (2016)	911	329	132	Pallaeni	Beagle Point	The pioneering 12-week, 65,000+ light-year journey organized by CMDR Erimus Kamzel and team that took over 1,000 players from the Ploeide system to Beagle Point, ultimately inspiring future galactic colonization and the creation of Colonia.
Distant Worlds II	3305 (2019)	4380	2,647	1,727	Pallaeni	Beagle Point	A monumental 5-month expedition spanning 13,000+ initial players—with over 3,700 successfully reaching Beagle Point—notable for tackling perilous regions like The Abyss and establishing permanent waypoints.
Distant Worlds III	3312 (2026)						A massive current-era armada of over 8,000 players embarking on a multi-month journey targeting deep galactic exploration, supported by the Orion Colony Initiative and custom player-managed mission frameworks.
The Enigma Expedition	3311 (2025)	446	362	84	Jackson's Lighthouse	Colonia	A touching community-organized expedition to accompany a terminally ill player named Brandon to Colonia, raising thousands for childhood cancer and resulting in developer Frontier Developments adding the permanent memorial megaship Dove Enigma.
The Small Worlds Expedition	3302 (2016)	91	56	35	Agarla	NGC 6565 Sector KC-V c2-6	Rather than using heavily engineered, long-range exploration ships like the Anaconda, this unique expedition required players to utilize tiny, atypical vessels (like Sidewinders, Eagles, and Haulers). It was designed as a beginner-friendly tour of local nebulae to teach new pilots the fundamentals of fuel scooping, star-mapping, and deep-space surviva

Videos

• File:Distant Worlds 3 Odyssey Part 1
• File:Distant Worlds 3 Odyssey Part 2 ( Hommage Cmdr Sandosan )

Gallery

• File:Players-Group-Expedition-Elite-Dangerous.png
• File:Players-Group-Expedition-2-Elite-Dangerous.png
• File:A Visual Expeditions History.jpg
• ED Expeditions a visual history
  ED Expeditions a visual history

See also

• Explorer
• Sightseeing