Gliding to Fame on the Wings of a Mohawk

by Tom Grover and Bianca Gandin

Yesterday saw the dawning of a new era of human exploration of Mars, as NASA’s latest rover, Curiosity, landed on the red planet’s surface in perfect precision, demonstrating a resounding success for the endeavors of modern science, and also providing conclusive proof that the men and women at NASA are still going from strength to strength. The NASA control room was filled with giddy celebration and a sense of uplifting euphoria yesterday as their intricate labours were finally rewarded.

However, one scientist at NASA is now experiencing ascension of a different kind, a sudden onrush of internet fame. A video explaining the vast difficulties of what is being called the “7 Minutes of Terror” featured Bobak Ferdowski, a man of 32 who has been working on the project for roughly nine years. He appeared only briefly in the video, but the mere sight of him and his radical Mohawk was enough to set the internet alight with shock that a NASA scientist could be so incredibly stylish. Fans of “NASA Mohawk Guy” (as his official page on knowyourmeme.com dubs him) have already made a tumblr page devoted to him, not to mention a whole multitude of memes and fan-art currently encircling the web (below).

During an interview with Shira Lazar of Whatstrending (below), Ferdowsi stated that he had been largely welcoming toward this sudden interest, claiming that while he’s no celebrity, “as long as it gets people interested in science, then that's awesome, that's what it's all about”. Indeed, many people (such as Winona Dimeo-Ediger of thefrisky.com) see his fame as an excellent thing for the Mars project and for modern science in general, if only to maintain public interest.  Ferdowsi's newfound fame also has the fortunate side-effect of shattering popular perceptions of "scientists" as reclusive, dull intellectuals with no sense of style or relevance when interacting with the modern world.