A Comment on "The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization" - the Case for Interstellar Space Probes

Abstract

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.

Accepted for publication in Astrobiology

References in corpus (5)

• Interstellar Dust Inside and Outside the Heliosphere
• Deciphering Spectral Fingerprints of Habitable Extrasolar Planets
• The far future of exoplanet direct characterization
• Perspectives on Interstellar Dust Inside and Outside of the Heliosphere
• Exploring the Galaxy using space probes

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Deciphering Spectral Fingerprints of Habitable Extrasolar Planets
• Interstellar communication network. I. Overview and assumptions
• The Use of Extraterrestrial Resources to Facilitate Space Science and Exploration
• Interstellar Probes: The Benefits to Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Experimental Simulation of Dust Impacts at Starflight Velocities