Mining robots, moon factories, and self-replicating spacecraft
Forget flying saucers — if alien probes have visited our solar system, they’re probably in the asteroid belt or quietly building factories on the moon. Shane Hewitt speaks with Alex Ellery, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Carleton University, about how interstellar spacecraft might actually work — and why the moon’s aluminum-rich soil is a bigger prize than Earth itself.

Ellery explains real-world efforts to mine and 3D print with lunar materials, outlines concepts for self-replicating alien probes, and raises a provocative possibility: that aliens could have already left evidence on the moon, and we just haven’t recognized it. A conversation that merges engineering, speculation, and a radical reframing of what alien contact might actually look like.

Could Aliens Have Left Us a Gift on the Moon?
What if first contact already happened — and the evidence is buried beneath the lunar surface? Professor Alex Ellery joins Shane Hewitt to explore the logic behind alien visitation, and why self-replicating machines might be the true currency of intelligent civilizations.

Ellery explains how such probes could use the moon’s minerals to construct infrastructure, how they might bury technology as a gesture of goodwill, and why we may only uncover it once we begin mining. The conversation spans self-replicating machines, universal constructors, and how this futuristic tech could revolutionize both space travel and industry here in Canada. Colonizing the galaxy starts with a shovel on the moon.

GUEST:
Alex Ellery

Originally aired on 2025-11-10