Self-Replicating Probes: Where? | Alex Ellery | IAUS404

Cluedo with Self-Replicating Probes - Where are They? Presented by Alex Ellery Carleton University Presented at IAU Symposium 404: Advancing the Search for Technosignatures | 2–6 March 2026 ABSTRACT: We suggest that self-replication technology is a pre-requisite to the infrastructure necessary for robust interstellar flight. This is imposed by economic constraints. Economics as the optimal disposition of scarce resources is a universal law that underlies biological evolution and rational decision-making. This implies that self-replicating probes are the de facto means for interstellar exploration through an r-strategy as it amortises initial capital investment over subsequent generations at no subsequent cost. If this is so, there should be evidence of prior visitation in our solar system yet there are no obvious signs of such. This is Fact A - this implies that, if technosignatures exist, they are difficult to discern from natural processes, have been obliterated by natural processes or are covertly hidden from casual observation. We examine these factors and highlight technosignatures of self-replicating probes in their approach to and residence within our solar system. The advantage of self-replication capability is that residence within the solar system may be ancient and enduring but Fact A implies the adoption of extensive dormancy. We examine potential technosignatures of industrial processes that may be detected using directed search and suggest the Moon as the primary target for such searches including buried artefacts. KEYWORDS: von Neumann probes, self-replication, interstellar exploration, Fermi paradox, lunar artifacts, dormancy, industrial technosignatures, Moon searches Presented 2–6 March during Advancing the Search for Technosignatures, an online symposium from the International Astronomical Union (IAU; https://www.iau.org/) and Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS; https://bmsis.org/).