NASA released new global surface temperature data in mid-January, confirming that last year was the hottest ever recorded — for the third year in a row. Sea ice was also at the lowest levels ever measured. Precision data from NASA that capture exactly what’s happening on the Earth’s surface made that analysis possible. But the projects that are used to capture that data might be at risk: Some House Republicans and at least one Trump adviser want to defund NASA’s climate research arm. In the meantime, NASA scientists are continuing to work on projects intended to reveal more about our planet. One such project is the ICESat-2 — a satellite that NASA says will measure melting sea ice in the Arctic more precisely than ever before. Watch: "Scientists think we just moved closer to the end of the world" - http://bit.ly/2js8YIV Watch: "President Obama' climate change legacy is clouded by his support of fracking" - http://bit.ly/2kRK95l Subscribe to VICE News here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News Check out VICE News for more: http://vicenews.com/ Follow VICE News here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicenews Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicenews Tumblr: http://vicenews.tumblr.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/vicenews More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo