Some things to know about No Man's Sky:
First of all, this game is all about forging your own path & discovering things for yourself. That said, the game is complicated & requires a bit of tutorial. The main story missions of the game will teach you how to play, award you many of the game's blueprints for free, greatly expand your understanding of what's going on in the game & most importantly - unlocks many game-play elements that otherwise remain locked. Long story short - it is well within your interest to complete most of the main missions before you go off doing your own thing. At the very least, you should everything before 'A Leap In The Dark'.
It is worth stopping before you do 'The Purge' or at least before you complete it. Consider that mission to be the 'point of no return' you would usually get before a final boss in a game.

[ IT IS VITAL THAT YOU DO THE FIRST MISSION, 'AWAKENINGS', BY YOURSELF, NOT IN MULTI-PLAYER. SOMEONE GIVING YOU ITEMS SUCH AS HERMETIC SEAL, CAN CAUSE YOU TO NEVER GET THE BLUEPRINTS FOR THESE ITEMS. ]
[ Check the Sub-pages on the left under 'Before You Begin' for more information ]
Good luck on your adventure Interloper...