Query: NASA has been adjusting temperatures from the past[...]

Relevant passages:
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster <=SEP=> On January 28 , 1986 , the NASA shuttle orbiter mission STS-51-L and the tenth flight of Space Shuttle Challenger ( OV-99 ) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight , killing all seven crew members , which consisted of five NASA astronauts and two payload specialists . The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean , off the coast of Cape Canaveral , Florida , at 11:39 EST ( 16:39 UTC ) . Disintegration of the vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster ( SRB ) failed at liftoff . The O-ring was not designed to fly under unusually cold conditions as in this launch . Its failure caused a breach in the SRB joint it sealed , allowing pressurized burning gas from within the solid rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB aft field joint attachment hardware and external fuel tank . This led to the separation of the right-hand SRB 's aft field joint attachment and the structural failure of the external tank . Aerodynamic forces broke up the orbiter .   The crew compartment and many other vehicle fragments were eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a lengthy search and recovery operation . The exact timing of the death of the crew is unknown ; several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft . The shuttle had no escape system , and the impact of the crew compartment with the ocean surface was too violent to be survivable .   The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program and the formation of the Rogers Commission , a special commission appointed by United States President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident . The Rogers Commission found NASA 's organizational culture and decision-making processes had been key contributing factors to the accident , with the agency violating its own safety rules . NASA managers had known since 1977 that contractor Morton Thiokol 's design of the SRBs contained a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings , but they had failed to address this problem properly . NASA managers also disregarded warnings ( an example of `` go fever '' ) from engineers about the dangers of launching posed by the low temperatures of that morning , and failed to adequately report these technical concerns to their superiors .   As a result of the disaster , the Air Force decided to cancel its plans to use the Shuttle for classified military satellite launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California , deciding to use the Titan IV instead .   Approximately 17 percent of Americans witnessed the launch live because of the presence of Payload Specialist Christa McAuliffe , who would have been the first teacher in space . Media coverage of the accident was extensive : one study reported that 85 percent of Americans surveyed had heard the news within an hour of the accident . The Challenger '' disaster has been used as a case study in many discussions of engineering safety and workplace ethics .

International Space Station <=SEP=> The International Space Station ( ISS ) is a space station , or a habitable artificial satellite , in low Earth orbit . Its first component launched into orbit in 1998 , and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth . The ISS consists of pressurised modules , external trusses , solar arrays , and other components . ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets , and American Space Shuttles .   The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology , human biology , physics , astronomy , meteorology , and other fields . The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars . The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft . It completes orbits per day .   The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews , following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut , Almaz , and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US . The station has been continuously occupied for since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000 . This is the longest continuous human presence in low Earth orbit , having surpassed the previous record of held by Mir . The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft : the Russian Soyuz and Progress , the American Dragon and Cygnus , the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle , and formerly the Space Shuttle and the European Automated Transfer Vehicle . It has been visited by astronauts , cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations .   After the US Space Shuttle programme ended in 2011 , Soyuz rockets became the only provider of transport for astronauts at the International Space Station , and Dragon became the only provider of bulk cargo return to Earth ( called downmass ) . Soyuz has very limited downmass capability .   The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies : NASA , Roscosmos , JAXA , ESA , and CSA . The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements . The station is divided into two sections , the Russian Orbital Segment ( ROS ) and the United States Orbital Segment ( USOS ) , which is shared by many nations . , the American portion of ISS is being funded until 2024 . Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024 but has proposed using elements of the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK .   On 28 March 2015 , Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development of a replacement for the current ISS . NASA later issued a guarded statement expressing thanks for Russia 's interest in future co-operation in space exploration but fell short of confirming the Russian announcement .

NASA <=SEP=> The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA -LSB- ˈnæsə -RSB- ) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program , as well as aeronautics and aerospace research .   President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian ( rather than military ) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science . The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29 , 1958 , disestablishing NASA 's predecessor , the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics ( NACA ) . The new agency became operational on October 1 , 1958 .   Since that time , most US space exploration efforts have been led by NASA , including the Apollo Moon landing missions , the Skylab space station , and later the Space Shuttle . Currently , NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle , the Space Launch System and Commercial Crew vehicles . The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program ( LSP ) which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches .   NASA science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System , advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate 's Heliophysics Research Program , exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft missions such as New Horizons , and researching astrophysics topics , such as the Big Bang , through the Great Observatories and associated programs . NASA shares data with various national and international organizations such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite . Since 2011 , NASA has been criticized for low cost efficiency , achieving little results in return for high development costs .

Global warming <=SEP=> Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .