Lunar mining and manufacturing could be mostly automated with minimal human labor. I don't expect replicating nano-bots to build mass drivers, habitat, lava tube towns, etc. To me it looks like we will have to land 1000 to 2000 tons of equipment and expand from there to millions of tons of equipment if we ever want to build mass drivers, solar power satellites, lunar power beaming systems, cities, railways, rocket bases, factories, fleets of surface vehicles, power plants, electrical transmission and communication cables, and more.
3D laser or electron beam lithography guided by computers can make almost any kind of part. Add some automated computer controlled machine tools and robotic assemblers and much could be done. The diagram above is of course very basic. Power supplies are missing, but you get the general idea. I'm only here to inspire; not to create the future! But expect more ideas in the future, as moonminer.com is always a work in progress. |
