Make your way out of the hole you go yourself into by rebuilding parts of your ship. Each piece adds new controls or functionality that allow you to navigate increasingly dicey areas. You start with just up thrusters, then quickly find and attach rotation thrusters, then abilities like a hover module, auto dock, lateral thrusters, quick-boost etc that are needed to tackle the later, more challenging terrain.
I like the idea of non-linear so you may have to leave a module you cannot reach until later and then return when you have the equipment to reach it, which then in turn unlocks the ability to reach a new area. Maybe some MadSkillz players can exit the Hole of Poon without getting all the bits. Self-setting difficulty and bonus scores for escaping without all the modules.