>> u.s. troops are photographed shuttle more -- poised to shuttle more americans to safety. does the

evacuation put america at risk of being caught in the middle of another country's civil war. >> a holiday gift - an unpopular legislative year. if you think this year was bad, wait for 2014 - an election jeer >> december 25th - a sweet idea to get some folks home for the holiday tripled in size thanks to real-life santas. >> n.a.s.a. set for a spacewalk, but space suit issues left the astronaut with cold feet. >> i'm david shuster in for antonio mora. welcome to "consider this". we begin with the deteriorating situation in south sudan, and the hundreds of americans that may need help to escape gun-happy militia. according to the pentagon 150 marines are in position to get the americans out after a week of fighting between government troops and rebels, claiming 500 south sudan lives.

close to 400 americans have been evacuated. 15 on sunday, a day after four u.s. troops were wounded in a previous attempt when their aircraft came under fire. tens of thousands of internal refugees fled after clashes twining the dinka and the nuer. toby lanzer, who brought south sudan out of the town of artur behind. >> as i left our base and went to the airport in bor, yes, there was a lot of looting, gunshots, dead bodies, and very, very out of control youth. heavily armed and that needs to be brought under control.

>> for more we are joined from silver spring maryland from ambassador princeton lyman. he served as an envoy for sudan and south sudan in 2011. what is going on? who is killing whom? >> the two sides letting lass the dogs of war. you have killing reported against the nuer in juba and elsewhere, by soldiers in the national army. you have reports in jonglei province, dinka killed in others by supporters of riek machar. it's a dangerous situation, a political dispute that spun out of control. the lack of control by the political leaders it to address it in other ways. >> how difficult and dangerous is it for u.s. troops who are trying to get in and get the final men's out of there? >> it depends where they are coming in. if they are talking about juba,

the capital is a little quite now. they can do that. if they are going after americans upcountry, it's more chancy, because you have militias and others with arms up there who may not know what the helicopters are coming in for. if it's juba. they can do it. our special envoy has been in juba and out again. as far as up north in bor, that's where the americans were injured when the osprey aircraft were fired upon. how sophisticated weapons were on the ground. do they have things they can helicopters. >> they could. they have shot down helicopters before. a u.n. helicopter was shot down a few months ago. they have the weaponry that will get a low-flying plane like a helicopter shot down. one has to be careful going into an area without an understanding

of what they are coming for and land. >> do you know how much contact or influence the u.s. military has with both sides of the conflict, so they can make it clear. on some point on sunday we are bringing in rescue troops not to get involved in the civil war. we want to know that the troops have safe passage, that the americans can get to them to get out of there. >> in places like bor and up in the country, it will be difficult. because you don't know for sure who the people are with weapons. some are forces loyal to riek machar, and others are youth militia who have been armed and may not have good command and control. that's very difficult for the communications. >> do you think that south sudan is headed to all-out civil war. >> it's certainly close to it, and that is why the diplomatic efforts are underway and there

are a lot and they are intense, are very important. it's very important that bangui moonis called for a strengthening of the u.n. mission. under no circumstances should the international community allow attacks on the people that thought of protection in the u.n. compounds. >> speaking of ban ki-moon and 500 south sudan who died in the fighting, there has been u.n. peacekeepers who died, ban ki-moon has this warning for the people responsible? >> the united nations will investigate reports of grave human rights violations and gripes against humanity. those responsible at the senior level will be held personally accountable and face the consequence, even if they claim attacks. >> do any of the leaders in south sudan or any of the people

responsible for the killings and atrocities, are they swayed by threats from the u.n.? i think the warnings are important by the way the death toll, i think, is higher than 500, we are receiving more reports about killing and i think the toll will go higher. i think the warning was important. there has to be accountability for this kind of thing. whether it's at senior levels or commander levels, but that is going be very important if we are going to bring reconciliation to the country. >> does the u.s. have any moral or ethical responsibility. the united states essentially put a lot of money into south sudan, growing a new nation. is there a responsibility that the united nations has to get involved in the first place? >> we have a lot of responsibility and interests. we were important to the independences of south sudan. i used to say we were the

midwife to their independence. instability and the collapse of south sudan ripples through the region - ethiopia, uganda, kenya. drc, car. that's why countries are concerned. the implication of a collapse africa. >> princeton lyman, senior advisor of the north-south negotiations, an expert on south sudan. thank you for joining us on "consider this." >> we appreciate it. >> now to another crisis overseas. the civil war in syria. syrian government helicopters dropped crude barrel bombs on rebels in the second largest city of aleppo and surrounding suburbs. more than 300 have been killed in the barrel bomb attacks in the past week. white house spokesman jay carney say the attacks killed more than 300 syrians in the past two days. we are joined from denver from

nader hosheme, the center from the middle east studies from the university of denver at josef korbel school of international studies, and the coeditor of "the syria dilemma", what is the u.s. interest at now in getting involved in syria? >> syria represents the largest moral and humanitarian catastrophe of the 21st centuries. 100,000 killed, half a million injured, approximately 40% of syria's population internally displaced or turning into refugees, a major part has been turned over to al qaeda. for all of those reasons united states has an interest in getting involved. >> the syrian peace talks are supposed to get under way in switzerland in less than a month, doesn't the bombing campaign reflect the effort by bashar al-assad to gain as much territory as possible when the peace talks begin. >> that is what he's attempting to do.

when you come to the bargaining table in switzerland, the two sides, whoever has more territory has a stronger bargaining position. that's why the bashar al-assad regime are pursuing the atrocities we see in aleppo. >> who do you see with the upper hand? >> over the last couple of months, bashar al-assad has the upper hand, because the international community has abandoned the syrian opposition, particularly the moderate democratic opposition. bashar al-assad is getting stronger. the mod rate democratic group is weaker. the islamist forces allied with al qaeda are getting stronger. >> russia sent 75 military vehicles to syria. so bashar al-assad's weapons can be shipped out of the country. >> don't they demonstrate

getting rid of sarin gas was beyond the point, so long as he was prepared to fight to the death using conventional weapons. >> exactly. he claimed the day before he gave them up he didn't have them or use 'em. 90% of atrocities have been conducted by conventional weapons. the kepton deal was a sideshow, didn't deal with -- chemical weapon deal was a sideshow, didn't deal with the cause. he drew a line in the sand with chemical weapons, and felt he had to save face, but that had nothing to do with the core causes of the syrian conflict. >> there's a debate about what, if anything, america should do. >> ambassador ryan crocker wrote in the "new york times" that where syria's future is concerned bashar al-assad is the least worst option.

ryan crocker said, and i quote: >> what is your response. do you agree with them? >> these are options that are lying before. the obama administration refused to show leadership. there's two ugly and i think untenable choices. the assad regime or al qaeda. >> are you suggesting we missed the opportunity. the moderates at the beginning, there were foreign fighters from al qaeda joining their side. >> some of them joined the side. there was a moderate alternative. particularly the civil society, and the moderate elements within the military uprising that could

have been strengthened and would not a radicalized with this. ryan crocker's op-ed represents a cynical and short-term untenable foreign policy. we are at this point because of the failure of obama's policy on syria. >> ryan crocker is talking about the realistic situation, and the reality is that yes, the opposition is infected with al qaeda, and should we get rid of assad, we are handing power to al qaeda. >> well, i mean that presupposes these are the only two options. i think that's third. rewarding someone who presided over state sanctions, war crime world. >> what is the third option? >> the third option is reverse policy back in serious way. organise the global campaign the

same way president clinton did when for the first three years of the bosnia war he turned away, then he showed leadership and appointed ambassador holl book to lead an effort to bring the -- holbrook to lead an effort to bring that conflict to an end >> i get that. is that not complicated by the fact that the groups cannot decide who should represent them at peace talks. if they can't identify who should represent them, how can the united states identify who the moderates are in their midst. the international community and the united states has acknowledged that the legitimate representatives of the syrian people are the syrian nationa coalition. they are weak on the ground. bickering is a response to the confused, ugly turn of events

where the moderate democratic opposition and the military forces tloil -- loyal to them are there on the ground. others don't want to come to geneva, they want to pursue an arms struggle to the end. going? >> from bad to worse. predictions are that refugees flowing out of syria will double. three-quarters of syria are needed in a short period of time. we are headed for a darker day. crimmer day. bashar al-assad will get stronger. and unfortunately the good guy, the people that started the uprising and the democratic opposition are getting weaker. us. >> as far as the food aid that the united states is sending in, is that having an impact. is there a way the west could do this better?

>> they are band-aid solutions. they are feeding people who are hungry. these people need to return to their homes, there needs to be political stability and a transition to a democratic agenda, a democrat track. none of that will happen while the obama administration abandons syria, turns away, wants to pivot to asia. we should not have hopes that the geneva peace conference next week will lead anywhere. i think we'll see more bloodshed, mayhem, refugees. >> nader hosheme from the university of denver. tonight. >> thanks for the opportunity. >> coming up, how bad was congress this year, the congress labelled the do-nothing congress passed six times as many bills as this. >> and harmela aregawi is web. >> a new study find 20% of the world is living on over $1 a day.

i'll tell you more coming up. join the conversation on twitter at aj "consider this" and on facebook and google+ pages.

>> on capitol hill 2013 will go down in history as the least productive and the least popular congress ever. by the numbers the two legislative bodies in the 113t congress sent barack obama just 64 bills. in george w. bush's the lower number was 136, doubt the amount. the -- double the amount. and the 80th congress, the do-nothing congress, passed 390. we are joined by jason johnson, a professor of political science. how do you explain so few bills

getting through? >> you have large numbers of members of congress who thing it's their job to stop the administration passing bills, rather than coming up with policy to pass. that's the root of it. for many observers, we operated under the assumption that the 2012 election would break the fever, that members of the republican party say president obama gets re-elected, we should pass laws. in many ways members of congress become more entrenched. that's why we are here. >> there has been idea logs in congress. shelby. he says: >> what is wrong with the ideological view that the role of congress is to keep the administration from creating new laws because it gets in the way of men people.

>> we have multiple laws, high levels of unemployment, student loan rates that are out of control. there's absolutely no excuse for congress to be this ipp effective given the problems that what the country faces are obvious. i said congressional approval rates are at 9%. that's as bad as you can get for the entire government. most of the republicans think that stopping barack obama is the only way to operate. they are not addressing the problems that the country is concerned about. >> previous presidents were unpopular. is there something particular about president obama that you think is at play here? >> he's black, a democrat and the most liberal president we have had. they are the honest to goodness views. i understand and agree with some of the things that the republicans are arguing about. there's problems with the

affordable care act, and problems that the democrats are concerned about. for 64 bills to be passed in this year, with all the other problems that the united states is facing, this is a reason the 2014 year will be critical. >> you mentioned the president raised the fact that he's black. how do you prove it's because of his skin colour that that's why they are doing this? >> all you have to do is look at the large numbers of republican voters and democratic voters that represent the idea that he's illegitimate. it's not like the people who doubted whether barack obama was a citizen or whether he was right to be elected to the united states. >> it's not like they are the majority of the republican party, most republican members said they were nuts, and doing a disfavour. it doesn't explain why the republicans suggest that they law.

>> it takes 20-30 members. the vast majority didn't want a government shutdown. if you represent district us you say we'd rather have the government shut down than allow the president to go forward. i'm not saying every person against the affordable care act is a racist. there's plenty of reasons to dislike barack obama. the level of resistance to what he's done is not much. >> the level of disengagement of this president - that he has had in terms of building relationship with congress is at historic highs. doesn't the premier bear some responsibilities to go the bipartisan route, even if there are so many republicans that don't support what he does? >> i don't think it's possible. if you look at the debt negotiations. barack obama

was naked at the table. the republicans got a lot of what they wanted through the first several years. the affordable care act was not what the democrats claimed they wanted or ran on in 2008. i don't think that president obama, for all of his flaws. he cannot make friends with people that do not want to work with him. whether it was george bush or usually after a president was re-elected the party says, "okay, we are going work with him more." we had a government shutdown after the government was elected, and re-elected. i don't think there's much else he can do other than to stand his ground and accomplish duck. >> i think this gets at a reason why people will not work with president obama. >> 16% approve of the job congress was doing. perhaps no surprise there. look at the approval numbers for

palmar. 41% of americans approve the job. 56" disapprove of the job. this is the case for a couple of months. why should members of congress go along with a president that unpopular. they wouldn't go along with him even if he was popular. because of the affordable care act, that's unpopular policy, it doesn't mean we shouldn't do things about unemployment. doesn't mean we shouldn't do things about jobsville. the fact that the members of congress have not been able to come up with policies that circumvent the president does not excuse congress for not getting anything done. it's not like we have seen an unprecedented level of veto. barack obama, he is trying to get some things done. >> here is what president obama

said at his news conference about what 2014 could look like. >> i firmly believe 2014 could be a break through year. >> congress agreed to come up with a congress, not get in the way of n a.p.s. an. are you optimistic things will get better. >> it's an election year. and every time it's like jesus is coming, look busy. every member of congress has laws passed saying that they have done state government. i think we'll see a more productive congress. whether or not the policies address the deep underlying problems, condition unemployment or horrible health care system. i don't know if those problems will be fixed, but congress will be more accurate. >> less gets done, you don't

want to go to voters in districts that are going to extremes. a lot of members of congress, they don't want to support anything the president has done. al jazeera english contributor jason johnson, thank you for coming in, we appreciate it. >> one of the first congressional battles of 2014 will involve long-term unemployment benefits. 1.3 million americans out of work count on that money. republican critics say cutting the program will force people to find work. democratic order leader nancy pelosi tried but failed to sell the economic merits of keeping the program alive. >> the economic impact is clear. every dollar spent on unemployment benefits grows the economy by $1.52 according to moody's analytics. $1.5 for every $1 we spend. >> sabrina siddiqui is joining us, a political reporter. thank you are for coming on

tonight. enate majority leader harry reid said he'll extend the time for the benefits. passing? >> it will be an uphill battle. republicans show little interest in expanding benefits. spending cuts elsewhere will be required to pay for the cost of extending unemployment benefits. and then there's the conservative wing of the republican party. the tea party republicans oppose the unemployment benefits. it will be up to republican leaders in the house, and mitch mcconnell to apiece the tea party as well, or pass something with majority democratic support, which is something that john boehner has only been willing to do so many times. >> and robert johnson spoke about the impact on retailers and banks. listen to this.

>> that last check comes out on december 28th. then, what enabled them to make the car or home payment if it had been the unemployment benefit. if that goes away it will create pain and financial institution. >> what influence will the financial institution and businesses have on the debate if they say, "hey, this will hurt us." >> it will have some influence. retailers said that spending is down, shoppers will not come out and spend as much money as they would because the economy is struggling. there's that art. at the same time there's a fixation on deficit reduction in congress. republicans are adamant they want to reduce spending. a thing they tend to go after, spogs this year, are the social programs, the programs that benefit the low-income americans across the country, that's where the unemployment

benefits land. there were food stamps, they were cut. it's not clear that retailers will be enough. even with respect to unemployment benefits. they'll have the hear it from the constituents. many are impacted. this is not a democratic republican problem. if they hear it from the constituents at home, then this factor. >> the issue of the deficit will go away. there is still an ideological opposition to unemployment benefits. senator rand paul has been leading the charge. here is what he said about benefits. >> when i said it's a disservice. it's not that they are unemployed, but they are less likely to get a job. >> how many

republicans share rand paul's view. >> some do, not all of them. moderate republicans will be willing to expand. if they are looking for the offset, they are not in the rand paul opposing it, but the problem with the argument is congress has not done its job in terms of bringing stability to the economy. they haven't passed legislation creating jobs. people on unemployment benefits are sitting at home, not looking for work that is not there, because congress governs from crisis to crisis, making it difficult on job creation, and the other point is studies show that unemployment benefits keep americans in the workforce longer because they have to submit reports that they are looking for work. when they lose the benefits they give up hope. >> there's a democratic d research firm called public

policy polling. they have done o poll on house speaker john boehner's home district. and according to the poll 63% of voters want the fund extended. 34% do not, including a majority 52% of voters. as the polling comes in, what influence does that have? >> it may have some influence. some of the polls are done by democratic firms, and groups that want to see the unemployment benefits, you center to take the results with a grain of salt. it will not be an issue in 2014 that they did not get extend the programs are not enough to motivate voters to go to the polls and vote alone. it comes down to districts and republicans who come from districts where the unemployment rates are high. they'll lobby their colleagues to come up

with a fix. senator dean haller will extend the benefits. the short-term extension allows time for a 1-year extension. when you look at dean heller. it's a state where unemployment is the highest at the moment. if you have republicans, there's some chance of a short-term extension, and a young-term extension an a question mark. sounds like several republicans are opposed to extending unemployment benefits, but they don'tant the fight at the beginning of the year. >> they don't. we came off on a good-faith ifrt, and they were trying to -- effort, and they were wanting to try to extend the bipartisanship into the new year and talked about how it might set the stage for reform. it may be attached to the broader

debt-ceiling. the president won't com promise. the republicans may try to negotiate saying you give us some spending cuts, we'll give you unemployment benefits for another year. i don't think the white house or democrats will engage in that hostage taked -- situation. maybe it will have to come through somewhere else. saying the savings in the farm bill will make up for unemployment spending. >> thank you for coming on the program sabrina siddiqui. >> it's time to see what is trending on the website. >> a new gallop poll found one in five people in the world are living in poverty as defined by the world bank. they are living on less than $1.25. they declared an ambitious goal of getting the poverty rate down

3% by 2030. africa is a stumbling block of of 131 country sur veyed the top 10 are in africa. >> brandon says it's the only logical result of capitalism. and: >> you can read more at the website aljazeera.com >> it's not as if it's totally unrestrained capitalism in china, but enough to loosen things. >> they are getting better on the poverty front. >> ahead - sometimes a holiday miracle takes a little happy. peter shankman talks about how he was able to help families true.

>> later in space - no one can hear you scream or sing. derek pitts talks about the christmas eve spacewalk. here is more. >> beneath the fluorescentsun in a former meat packing plant is the latest trim in farming. they call it "vertical farming." these fields grow on floors on at industrial park and farmer john adel and his staff agrees user. >> my shipping proceed did you say 1500, 2,000 miles to

get are. >> the plant of the indoor -- as the indoor formers call it doesn't grow corn or soybeans but mustard, high end micro greens on the plates of white-napkin restaurants. these fish supply the vert liser that number issues the the stream is uniquely interactive television. in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation

online @ajamstream. >> most people hope for an upgrade or free trip or trip overseas. the next guest pays them forward. peter shankman posted a note that he'd give away hundreds of thousands of miles. he selected six people and gave them flights they want have been able to afford. >> peter shankman is doing it again thanks to media attention. his project took off and 28 people have received free flights. he joins us now. he's the founder and ceo of the gooek factory. he is a principal at shankman-honig, a consulting firm designed to help corporations better serve their customers. sara and indiana jones are contest winners - yes, you heard it right. indiana named after the action hero. and they are joining us. >> how did you get the idea? >> when you travel a lot,

260, 270 days a year m you're on a plane. you want to be home. i want to see my wife, cat, 7-month-old. and it occurred to me as a banked the miles, giving them to assistance and friends, i thought, "how can i get rid of some and help people?" i gave away six trips last year, and this year it blew up. >> there are companies that pitched in? >> jet blue reached out and said, "we love what you are doing, out of the blue said, "we love what you are doing and would love to give you 10 flights. they said we want to give every winner a jacket. it was inveriedible. people i have met called and said, "i want to donate my miles, use them, and we'll send someone home", yes, 28 people. >> tell us about your situation. what was the application like, what did you see and indiana,

what did you think about the prospect. >> well, i followed peter's blog and followed him on facebook. i was we can't get a ticket. i didn't want to tell him. i posted the comment and told the truth, that we hadn't seen each other in three months out of three years. i said that i missed my husband and the want him home. it's a job to suck it up. it doesn't mean i don't miss im. i didn't tell anybody. and kind of watched it, and i got a bunch much likes from a stranger, which is cool, and got to the point where i had to be, like, well i had to figure out what we are going to do if he had to turn down the leave. i was, like, i kind of applied

for a guy on facebook's contest. and he was, like, why is he sending people home. >> i said he's awesome and wants to send people home. >> what was your reaction when you heart that you won. >> i thought she was messing with me. we had been through so many ups and downs. you can never be sure. it was so wonderful. i was pretty ecstatic that we had the mind. ness, and that there was somebody like peter in the world that wanted to send people home. it was about $1,000. once my leave was 100% approved. i couldn't justify sending the money. i was going to wait and push back the leave until it was more affordable. peter made it come true and we spend christmas together. >> what was it about their application or the other people who got them to get this.

>> my assistant - i said to her, you're picking. i said the stories were heartbreaking. i have a special place in my heart for military. that is wonderful. there were stories. they wanted to see their grandfather. what i loved about the story, i didn't know she followed me on twitter, she was someone that posted. her last line was honest and said, "look, i just want to see my husband, i miss my husband." i said, "i travel, i miss my wife and kid." she's honest. at the end of the day i grew up in new york city, i'm a city kid. i got lucky. you have to give back and help when you can. >> what would you say to peter, he's right here. >> thank you. >> thank you from the bottom of our hearts. >> i'll have to meet you guys. thank you for your service. i

hope to shake your handism. >> i think you'll get more than a handshake. >> and to bindee. >> minedy is someone that gave us miles. i connected minedy and sara, that was dollar trip. >> for people that want to join, is there a way that anyone can contribute the mile. >> next year i'll start earlier. i waited until the last minute and dump that. she looked at me and said, "you got to be kidding." >> if you want to get involved. and want to send people home, you can email me. find me, let me know. i'll reach out and we'll set the ball rolling. >> what's the reaction from other winners. i think i have been told, you know, that i am wonderful more times than i heard. i had more people say a prayer and offer blessings. it's nice.

to be able to contribute and give back. it sounds cheesy, but it's a nice feeling. >> for folks that may be in your situation, what is the message about. >> just believe that things can happen. and planning on the things to pay it forward. >> awesome. >> how will you do that? >> we've been talking about a couple of things. it's been decided. we do a lot. both of our jobs and the people we meet are positive. they are constantly helping those, accessible to anybody. it's kind of part of our journey through life, getting the help now. we can be in a position to help other people. just like the movie pay it forward. billed upon it is. people will be helping people and turned on to the idea. especially around the holiday

time making sure everyone can get home, as many as we can get home. peter has support. >> well said. sara and indiana jones, thank youal very much. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> straight ahead. if you plan on flying somewhere, chances are you will be delayed. and the reason why may surprise you. the data dive is next.

>> start with one issue education... gun control...

the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> today's data dive helps to explain why your flight home may not get there on time. new research suggests the delays may be related to the increased competition from low-cost carriers. a study from the kelly school of

business found prices do, indeed drop when a low-cost airline enters the market. so does quality. the focus was on south-west airlines, and the potential entrants into others. the rate of competing flights coming in late, jumped by 3.2%. it came as a shock to conventional wisdom. why the lateness in flight arrivals? researchers feel one reason is the cut in cost to compete with the lower pricing. cutbacks mean fewer baggage handlers and mechanics, and sometimes the airlines will keep fewer airlines if an airport is grounded. thanks to orbit and kayak prices have dropped. the lowest round-trip fair is 199 for the top 40 airroutes.

$5 cheaper than last year. the major airlines do not need to worry. the international air transport association says the carriers are projected to earn $19.7 billion combined. >> coming up why are the astronaut on the international space station getting cold feet over their walk in orbit. we explain next.

>> and now a techknow minute...

% >> imagine where you would like to be this christmas eve, perhaps spending time with the family, enjoying the holiday season, how about going for a space walk 230 miles above the earth or spending time sitting in zero gravity talking to a robot. maybe you'd like to go for a drive on the mon. >> here to tell us what is going on in space while the rest of us are on earth, we are joined from philadelphia by dr derek pitts from the franklin institute

science museum. astronaut mike hopkins and rick markstraccio will be going on a space walk, the second. what are they fixing up there? >> what they are fixing is an important temperature mixing valve that allows them to regulate temperatures in the loop for the electronics on board. they have a backup system, but it's really important to have the two main systems up and operating in case one fails so they have a backup. that's what they have to fix. >> electronics - if they don't done? >> the problem is you can't run everything at full efficiency or have everything operating as you might like if one of the cooling systems is down. they have to reduce the heat load by reducing the full load of electronics on the system. they shut down some nonessential

operations on the space station. >> the astronaut have been having problems with space shoots. in july 1st had his helmet flood with water. they had to outfit them with snorkels and wads. on the last space work keeping worm -- warm was a problem and his toes was cold. what happened? . >> the heating elements for the feet, the toes probably malfunctioned so his toes were not warm. the suits are really made to be able to withstand the environment outside of international space station. they do a miraculous job and are tasked to do incredible work in an unforgiving environment. some of the worst challenges for machinery. yet, they worked well. in this case there was the first problem with the toes getting cold. and once they got back to the

oir lock, they found water in the suit. not much, but enough that cautioned n.a.s.a. operations to have them switch out to a different sued for the walk. >> where does that come from. on board the system, there are water systems, there are the coolant systems circulating cool water around the suit keeping the astronaut cool. then there's a drinking water system. there's a system that extracts moisture from the exalation of the astronaut, and that goes into a water system. there's water supplies on board the suit for those reasons. >> in other space station news there was a video of the first conversation between a robot and a person in space. is the first step - is this the first step on the path to having robots in space. as man missions are less of a primary concern, will robots stars.

>> actually, this is the third step along the way. there's a robotic arm working in the international space station along the trust sections that moves along in an inch-worm face from station to station. there's also an upper torso, a humanoid robot on board the space station testing and doing small manual tasks. i think robotics are used as technological capabilities develop, doing the dangerous tasks and doing the mundane work. we can look forward in the future to seeing more robotics used in space exploration in a lot of different ways. >> there's a little robot named korobo. it has voice recognition. natural language processing and the ability to recognise emotions.

it looks funny, silly, but what does that gain, the astronaut. one of the things that it begins to gain, is it's sort of like having a better user interface, something friendlier than a keyboard or not so human like. the idea is not to get it to be human like, but for it to be a comfortable user interface so the astronaut will be more likely to use the device, capability. >> not too long ago you spoke with antonio about the chinese moon mission. their mission has been successful. on-december 14th they landed on the moon and released the moon rover. what is next for china? >> they are probably going to have subsequent missions to the moon, in addition to the ut

rover i would imagine that they would bring on additional missions to explore the moon, and i think all leading up to the possibility of them having manned landings on the moon. china is getting to it point where they can show they are as strong as space exploration states. >> it will be huge symbolically for them. as far as the sciences is there anything new to be cleaned from sending human being to the moon? >> for them there's a lot. i don't think they'll come up with new information. but one of the things they'll find out is how good their capability is to do science on the surface of the moon. with the rover there now, they are testing their teleoperational capability - whether they can communicate well, how well they operate, and all of these things leading to clinees astronaut on the moon.

the space agency launching the telescope mapping a billion stars, gayer. how good is this? >> it will have about 100 times greater position mapping capability and other sort of information gathering about stars than the previous mission launched by european space agency back in the 1990s. you have to keep in mind that we have an idea where the star positions in the sky. missions help us to pinpoint galaxy. >> the one and only derek pitts. thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. >> thank you. happy holidays. >> the show may be over. the conversation continues on the website

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