The space agency's James Webb Space Telescope discovered a molecule called dimethyl sulphide, or DMS, on the distant planet, which on Earth can only be produced by life, according to a report from the BBC.
"On Earth, DMS is only produced by life. The bulk of it in Earth's atmosphere is emitted from phytoplankton in marine environments," University of Cambridge Profesor Nikku Madhusudhan, who led the research, told the BBC. More @ https://www.foxnews.com/us/nasa-detects-molecule-another-planet-only-produced-by-life
So even if we create light speed travel tomorrow, it's going to take us 240 years to confirm it long after everyone today is dead.
Technically speaking. We could in theory create near lightspeed travel with the tech we have now. You’d however need a proverbial running start of a few years to build up the speed.
What we’d need to confirm it within a reasonable timeframe is Faster then Light Travel. Which at least publicly is even more theoretical and barebones than the near lightspeed theory. Whether the DARPA Eggheads have something sitting in a bunker or remote testing center is a different question
There is this. A patent for the Lockheed TR-3B Astra????
https://files.catbox.moe/rzzy4a.pdf