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

Abstract

Reply to A Comment on The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization - the Case for Interstellar Space Probess by Ian Crawford. The paper The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization resulted from the collective work of TE-SAT, a team appointed by ESA in 2003 to assess a strategy to find and characterize Terrestrial Exoplanets. The interstellar flight aspect was not part of the TE-SAT work and was added afterward as side remarks in the chapter on {\guillemotleft} The Far Future of Exoplanet Direct Characterization {\guillemotright}. As an introductory general remark, the intention of the paper was not to discourage work on interstellar flight prospective. On the contrary, any advance in this field that makes interstellar travel closer to us is welcome. In the framework of this short reply, the discussion can only be qualitative; it would deserve a full future paper.