The Universe Within 12.5 Light Years

One issue with the latter is that tech is likely to advance fast enough that a subsequent probe launched a couple of decades later would overtake the first probe.

Regarding the former, various studies have been made and will certainly continue to be made: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_travel#Designs_an...

Exploration of the Very Local Interstellar Medium (VLISM) will likely come first: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-022-00943-x

I’d still settle for getting the probes out the door because no matter what advancement happens if you can’t get them into space it’s a moot point. I’d simply take something we can reasonably launch into space for research at this point.

Also, I would love to see a lunar base happen in my lifetime

Yeah, I don’t think it will happen that fast. There are a lot of hard problems to solve, and you have to make a case for the expected scientific (or other) benefits to be worth the costs. Look at how long the JWST took from initial planning to launch, that was about twenty years, despite clear and specific objectives.

That's not an issue. Thats a good thing!