[Robotbeat]

Disagree. At 0.1c, it takes 42 years to reach Proxima Centauri (and 4 more years to get data back). The Voyager 1 and 2 probes are still operating and transmitting scientific data that people are interested in (the missions are still funded) and were launched 44 years ago and are likely to continue a few more years. So we have existence proof that people would still be interested in it over that kind of timeline.

And I know you excluded the “closest stars,” but I don’t understand why, except that it undermines your point. There are at least 3 nearby stars that could be reached by probes in a researcher’s (or at least their funding institution’s) lifetime vs just our one star system.

(Besides the 3 stars in the Proxima/Alpha Centauri system there are also at least 11 additional stars—including fusion-capable brown dwarfs—within 10 light years of the Sun.)