Staying alive… Dear Cheap Astronomy – Just how useful are humans in space? Just by landing robots on Mars, we’ve been able to take lots of photos, smell the air, feel the ground and listen to the wind blow. We’ve got bogged in difficult terrain, but also climbed hills to take in the view and even operated a drone. Sending people there is a lot more fraught…   Dear Cheap Astronomy – What is the death zone radius of a black hole merger? The background to this question is the gravitational wave data we’ve been detecting with LIGO – the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory. The data received can be reverse- engineered to quantify the astronomical event that caused the gravitational waves detected.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].