Nasa boldly goes as far away as possible | Brief letters

Alien lifeforms | Power of prayer | Corned beef | Remembering birthdays | Celebrity old-age homeYour article (Nasa moon rocket creeps to its launchpad in preparation for astronaut flight, 18 January) quotes the crew commander of Artemis II, Reid Wiseman: “They are so fired up that we are headed back to the moon. They just want to see humans as far away from Earth as possible.” I imagine that most of Earth’s lifeforms would agree.Pete StockwellSt Buryan, Cornwall• Ravi Holy’s thought-provoking article on the power and purpose of prayer (19 January) reminded me of a favourite cartoon. Two monks are sitting on either side of a chess board and about to start a new game, with one of them saying: “Right, this time praying’s cheating.” Matthew NewmanLeeds Continue reading...