Experts from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (USA) described a scenario according to which, in their opinion, the solar system, in particular the moon, can be mastered by an autonomous and expanding population of robots. The research preprint is at the disposal of Lenta.ru editors.
Simulations carried out by scientists have shown that to create a successful autonomous colony of robots, it is enough to deliver at least 12 tons of payload to the moon within 20 years. It will represent a colony of robots controlled from the Earth. The resources of the Moon and asteroids will allow the colony to move to an autonomous existence in the future.
According to the authors of the study, the population of robots, due to access to almost unlimited amounts of minerals and energy, will develop exponentially.
Experts predict that in a few decades, without attracting additional investment, the volume of industrial production on the moon will exceed the industrial potential of the United States by millions of times.
In April 2016, astrophysicist Philip Lubin of the University of California at Santa Barbara (USA) published a preprint titled Roadmap for Interstellar Flight. In the article, the scientist describes a program that allows, with modern technological capabilities, to send an automatic station to Alpha Centauri.