lunar mining

[backtrax]

Non-Manned robotic-missions may go to the moon to prepare moonbase habitat and tools, made from lunar materials.
An established, yet still maturing technology...is 3-Dimensional Printing. (It's been around about 30 years)
It is referred to as "Additive" manufactoring, where items (And even large buildings) can be "Deposited" in place, layer by layer. Materials used on earth based labs are often "Sintered" in place utilizing a high-output industrial-Laser, and have little (Or none) binding agents or polymers required.
The 3D printing is something that will be adopted rather rapidly now that the devices are becoming relatively inexpensive enough that ordinary household will some be able to have one.
TED-talks, 3D printing vid. Gets interesting (At 2:30 sec) as a titanium part is layered and fused...