MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's newest building also is one of the
nation's greenest. News media are invited to tour the facility,
called Sustainability Base, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT on
Thursday, April 19, 2012, at the agency's Ames Research Center at
Moffett Field, Calif. Reporters also are invited to the dedication
and ribbon cutting ceremony from 10 to 11 a.m. the following day.
Sustainability Base is a highly intelligent and intuitive facility
designed to anticipate and react to changes in sunlight, temperature,
wind and occupancy. The building can optimize its performance
automatically, in real time, in response to internal and external
changes. It is designed to achieve, and is presently under
consideration for, the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum status, which is the
highest LEED rating.
Participants in the ceremony include:
-- Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
John Holdren (prerecorded message)
-- U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, Calif.
-- U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Calif.
-- NASA Associate Administrator for Mission Support Woodrow Whitlow
(representing Administrator Charles Bolden)
-- Ames Center Director Pete Worden
-- Ames Associate Center Director for Research Steven Zornetzer
-- Architect William McDonough
Meeting the White House challenge to lead by example, NASA has
repurposed its technologies and incorporated them into the new
building. Sustainability Base features a Bloom Energy Box, for
example, that uses fuel cell technology in a clean
electrical-chemical process to produce electricity. The facility also
has a water recovery system, derived from one originally designed for
the International Space Station, which reduces unnecessary
consumption of potable water.
