[justinpombrio]

> Or you send some self replicating stuff on the moon [...] > We have the technology to do this right now

Do we? Self-replicating robots would be very exciting, even on Earth, but I thought we weren't close to being able to make them. Do you have a citation/link?

[anonymfus]

FANUC factories.

2003:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2...

2007 (?):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SREct28lJM

2010:

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/magazine/content/10_49/b42060442...

2015:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/japanese-robot-maker-fanuc-revea... (put google in the referrer to avoid paywall)

[ju-st]

They are just a industrial automation company. Why should they be able to build stuff on the moon?

[venomsnake]

You have 3d printers that can print themselves. That is a cornerstone.

[simcop2387]

Everything except assembly, the motors, and the electronics. It's definitely getting closer but we don't have printers that can actually print themselves just yet.