Very plausible OP. Work is already being done.
[youtube]TyOgDlUWfFE[/youtube]
Lots more info
http://nextbigfuture.com/search/label/c ... 20crafting
(also... wasn't this kinda talked about in that embarrassing documentary Zietgiest? Yeah, they were mentioning Jacque Fresco's Venus Project, he's all about building cheap buildings with robots. But from the animations it seems he was thinking more about pre-fab rather than fab-on-site)
They're even pondering if they can do it on the moon, automated with robots, making concrete outof moon dust (probably heat sinter the dust into place, maybe even with lasers -
like one of these). When we put robots on the moon they're gonna do what all of us would do: ★■◆● bricks.
No really this moon thing is super interesting to me, NASA is pondering it in a plan to eventually make the moon self-sufficient, robots making robots making robots, on the moon, building more sophisticated things that can build more sophisticated things, always ramping technologically upwards. Like Minecraft on the moon. Mooncraft?! Anyway, i've got a PDF here i'll dig up a link for later. (still havn't read it all the way through)
Nasa and their plans.... plans plans plans. So many irons in the fire.
edit: ok here's the paper
Preprint. To appear in Journal of Aerospace Engineering. 1 Affordable, rapid bootstrapping of space industry and solar system civilization Philip T. Metzger, Ph.D., A.M. ASCE1, Anthony Muscatello, Ph.D.2, Robert P. Mueller, A.M. ASCE3, and James Mantovani, Ph.D.
man, it's hard to find downloads of the whole 24 page paper, i guess publishers protect their turf, but i finally found one.
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?jec82ujimpgv4fh
I think i started reading it a few months back, and then started pondering just how small and simple a bootstrapping robot on the moon could possibly be, and what manufacturing techniques could be used. Could we sinter moondust into rocks, and then rub them together to form flat surfaces? and perhaps even predictable curved shapes via that method of constant rubbing against one another, like how we make glass lenses? Just how many techniques would be required, how many types of geometric primitives do we need to be able to make, before it can ramp up to the next level.
And to be honest, the whole idea of bodged together robots on the moon with gigantic long arms made of MOON GLASS and WHATEVER ELSE IS AROUND
(nope, there's only moonglass, lol, until we start refining it into purer metals and alloys. WHICH IS ONE OF THE FUTURE STEPS OMG) just makes me go all gooey
I mean, think about it, you could make a MOON-KILN just by firing a freaking laser beam at the moon-ground, build it up with sintered moon-dust, layer by layer, like making a moon-pizza oven. Then you can cook moon-dust in it, and make things that are more detailed and accurate, and then what? And these things can be as big as you want, as complex as you want, the available space and raw resources are near infinite, it's like minecraft, and it's all by teleoperated robots that run on solar power. So think big, super big.
I guess i must have spaced out for a while from that point on all those months ago, coz i never ended up finished the paper, hehe (still here on my ebook reader though, like a shiny jewel, man it's a fun read).
