Ceiling panels that cool the air? Windows and shades that open automatically? A constant LCD display of energy use? These are some of the nifty features in NASA's new lunar-shaped office building that opens this spring in Moffett Field, Calif.

Dubbed NASA's "latest mission on Earth," the building showcases innovations engineered for space travel. It has, for example, a forward-osmosis system that treats greywater (from restroom sinks and showers) and reuses it to flush toilets and urinals.

"They installed that system on the space station," says Steve Zornetzer, associate center director of NASA Ames Research Center, where the building is located, just south of Palo Alto. So, he asked, "Why can't we use that on planet Earth?"

The NASA Sustainability Base, designed to produce more energy than it uses, will be one of the federal government's greenest buildings. It reflects the push by President Obama, who will have solar panels re-installed on the White House this spring, to make federal buildings more energy- and water-efficient.

"It makes sense for the bottom line," says Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Because the federal government is the country's single largest energy consumer, she says, lowering its utility bills will save taxpayers money and help the environment. She says Obama is expanding on the Bush administration's efforts to green the federal sector.

In October 2009, Obama signed an executive order requiring new buildings and major renovations be certified by the private U.S. Green Building Council's rating system, known as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). In October, the General Services Administration upped the ante by requiring such projects meet LEED's second-highest, or gold, standard. Previously, it required a lower level of certification.

"They're really walking the talk with strict new standards," says Alex Wilson, executive editor of Environmental Building News. "We're seeing some amazing projects on the federal level."

Some of the best examples come in places people might not expect, says Michelle Moore, Obama's federal environmental executive. She cites the Department of Veterans Affairs' efforts to install solar panels at facilities nationwide, starting with ones in sunny areas that will produce up to 100% of their annual electricity. Also, she cites the Army's plans to build and rehab 2,106 homes at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Va. The project has a mixed-use town center, solar panels and a salvaged playground.

NASA's new building wouldn't have been possible even five years ago, partly because the software used in its design wasn't as sophisticated then, says Jay Bhatt, senior vice president of Autodesk Inc., which provided software. He says its Revit system allows architects to model designs for maximum performance so they know the impact of every change, such as the amount of daylight available if they rotate the building 10 degrees.

Such modeling estimates that the $23 million, 50,000-square-foot NASA showpiece will use 75% less energy and 90% less potable water than regular code-built structures. And, once a solid oxide fuel cell is added to the solar panels and wind turbine, it's expected to produce an annual surplus of power. It's slated to earn the top LEED rating, platinum.

Zornetzer touts the building's geothermal system, composed of 100 wells, each 140 feet deep. "It's a very simple passive system," he says, noting how the wells connect to a pump that runs water through copper tubes in ceiling panels. The water stays at 58 degrees, so due to basic physics, the cool air falls from the panels to the workspace below.

He says computers will open the windows at night to let in a cross breeze and close them during the day. He says they'll open and close shades to regulate solar gain. Software will also monitor and adjust the building's temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide as well as light and noise levels.

Not all is high-tech. The building is oriented to maximize daylight, so artificial light will be needed only about 40 days each year. It's narrow, 54 feet, and has no interior columns, so people working in the middle will still benefit from daylight pouring in from floor-to-ceiling windows, and, on the second floor, the skylights.

"It has this incredible view," says the project's architect, Dave Johnson of William McDonough & Partners, noting the surrounding tall evergreens.

"It's like you're standing in a forest," Johnson says. "It's awesome. I'd like to work there."

Zornetzer says he'll be one of the lucky residents, and he won't hide in a corner office. To see how the building fosters collaboration, he says: "I'm going to take an open workspace."