TL;DR
I suggest a intro video / automated gameplay sequence as a way to prepare players for the small amount of grind ahead and that it will get easier.Not by explaining how to do it... or holding their hand, but by planting that idea in their brain through narrative.
What ?
The what is going to be specific to your art direction / skillsets. I would recommend a series / slideshow of comic book styled panelsshowing our protaganist in space... en route somewhere - reading an engineering book of some kind - opportunity here for humor and to see our character in space at the start. Hereafter the protaganist's ship is perhaps hit by something (could be from the planet or could be space junk , could be a rocket from some other player
, narrative could mess with time etc. can be creative here... ) causing the crash.The main point is for the character to have speech / thought bubbles on each panel, or an audio voice over - like in the original max payne.
Final panel being something along the lines of "Well it's going to be a rough start, but i'm going to need to automate my way out of this!" while he grabs a blue print book from the wreckage... " Scans show there are some potentially hostile creatures on this world, they won't like this at all."
Why ?
Because in FFF 327 (https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-327) you guys mentioned that you weren't happy with how the campaign tutorials worked.I figure the combination of the protaganist having a little back story... does'nt reveal too much about WHY he's in space, but tells you he was... tells you he's an engineer, indicates via "a rough start" that there will be an initial grind... and that i can "automate my way out of this".
I hope this exposition if not skippable on first execution (and only skippable after having been watched before) will put any kind of player in the right mindset for this awesome experience.