It is a whopping ~ 25, 000, 000, 000, 000 (trillion) miles from our Home Planet. This neighboring star system consists of three stars, Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B and Proxima Centauri; where Proxima Centauri is the closest star to Earth that exists outside of our solar system. The idea involved using lasers that gave a total output power of 100 GWs (100, 000, 000, 000 Watts) to propel a ~ 6000 lbs (2750 kg) spacecraft to about 5 % of the speed of light. With the combination of both laser and magnetic sails the team hope to reach Alpha Centauri in about 100 years. So, watch this space and maybe one day our children or grandchildren will see images or data from Alpha Centauri.

Source: Forbes December 16, 2018 00:22 UTC