That was probably never going to happen, no matter how much effort was put into space exploration. At least we know Proxima b exists though, and can say with high confidence that there are planets around other stars. Back in the 1970s, that wasn't a given thing.
On 09Jan2019 1356, Catherine Berry wrote:
> cliffs of Miranda. Or even slide into orbit around Proxima b, and watch an > alien sun rise over the limb of an entirely new world.