Following on from ideas presented in a recent paper by Schneider et al.(2010) on "The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization", I argue thatthey have exaggerated the technical obstacles to performing such 'directcharacterization' by means of fast (order 0.1c) interstellar space probes. Abrief summary of rapid interstellar spaceflight concepts that may be found inthe literature is presented. I argue that the presence of interstellar dustgrains, while certainly something which will need to be allowed for ininterstellar vehicle design, is unlikely to be the kind of 'show stopper'suggested by Schneider et al. Astrobiology as a discipline would be a majorbeneficiary of developing an interstellar spaceflight capability, albeit in thelonger term, and I argue that astrobiologists should keep an open mind to thepossibilities.
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