[mr_mitm]

Note that you can't use these lasers to slow down the probe, which will dramatically limit the things the probe can do at the destination. I'm not even sure what kind of interesting things a probe the size of a smartphone could do, let alone phone home.

[perilunar]

> you can't use these lasers to slow down the probe

You can, but you need a couple of solar sails. You beam the laser at the sails to accelerate, then at the halfway point one of the sails detaches and becomes a reflector, which lights up the now flipped probe and remaining sail to decelerate them.

[throwawayben]

send an unending chain of them and you solve the transmission problem _and_ they don't have to slow down as you'll always have another on the way past whatever you're targeting

[zelphirkalt]

How many times the Earth's materials would we consume doing that? And wouldn't it block ma lazor from reaching the previous probes and accelerating them?