Following on from ideas presented in a recent paper by Schneider et al.
(2010) on "The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization", I argue that
they have exaggerated the technical obstacles to performing such 'direct
characterization' by means of fast (order 0.1c) interstellar space probes. A
brief summary of rapid interstellar spaceflight concepts that may be found in
the literature is presented. I argue that the presence of interstellar dust
grains, while certainly something which will need to be allowed for in
interstellar vehicle design, is unlikely to be the kind of 'show stopper'
suggested by Schneider et al. Astrobiology as a discipline would be a major
beneficiary of developing an interstellar spaceflight capability, albeit in the
longer term, and I argue that astrobiologists should keep an open mind to the
possibilities.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrobiolog
