And yet we pretty much have the technology right now to send a probe to Alpha Centauri. The Parker Solar Probe would make it there in about 8000 years. We could

And yet we pretty much have the technology right now to send a probe to Alpha Centauri. The Parker Solar Probe would make it there in about 8000 years. We could probably make a probe that makes it there in much less time if we wanted (by taking much longer to accelerate and de-accelerate). Then it just needs to survive a few thousand years dormant.