nasa

In a NASA facility just outside Washington, D.C., workers are building the James Webb Space Telescope, an $8 billion successor to the Hubble. It'll be the largest ever, and it's set to launch in 2018.

Less than 1 percent of applicants make the cut. But there's more than one way in. Passion helps. Be persistent. Oh, and be tops in what you're doing right now.

Named Sustainability Base, a NASA facility in California is a model for energy-efficient federal buildings. It's powered by a fuel cell like those used on spacecraft and recycles water for flushing.