As a commonplace thing the self-replicating lunar factory is probably quite a long way off, but the concept of self-replicating machines (which are a step along the way) is an exciting and real one, so that's what inspired this track.
The best book on the subject of self-replicating machines, that I am aware of (and I own a copy), is Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines (KSRM) by Robert A. Freitas Jr. and Ralph C. Merkle. It's now available online:
http://www.molecularassembler.com/KSRM.htm
I used this book for citations in an essay I once wrote for an open university course I did on The Fundamentals Of Science. In the essay we were supposed to come to the conclusion that Mars would never be terraformed because it would take 10,000 years or so. What the tutor who set the question failed to realise is that self-replicating machines have already been created, and KSRM provides references to ample peer reviewed articles that prove it. Using a combination of "clanking self-replicating machines" (von Neumann Machines) and bioengineered life-forms, Mars could be terraformed in centuries. I got top marks!
With advanced molecular self-replicating assemblers (which don't yet exist) it would take even less time to terraform Mars. For that read Engines Of Creation by K. Eric Drexler, also available online:
http://e-drexler.com/d/06/00/EOC/EOC_Table_of_Contents.html
Of course, we won't be terraforming the Moon, but we will start living on the Moon quite soon...perhaps within the next few decades.
