That's still a lot of money, but obtaining up-close views of our nearest exoplanetary neighbors borders on invaluable. In the likely best-case scenario, Breakthrough Starshot might begin launching StarChips to Proxima Centauri by the mid-2030s.

When did breakthrough starshot launch?

Breakthrough Starshot was established in 2016. Teams of scientists and engineers are studying the challenges of launching such tiny probes. Each one would be powered by a “sail” covering a few square yards. High-powered lasers on Earth would beam light at them.

How long would it take to get to Alpha Centauri?

Alpha Centauri is 4.4 light-years away, or nearly 40 trillion kilometers. The fastest spacecraft so far launched into space, the NASA-Germany Helios probes, traveled at 250,000 kilometers per hour. At that speed, it would take the probes 18,000 years to reach the nearest star to the sun.