Mission controller has head in stars and wild mohawk

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/08/2012 (5020 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

UP in the stars, history was made, and down here on Earth, a new star was born: Bobak Ferdowsi, a.k.a. Mohawk Guy, the mission controller for the NASA Mars Curiosity landing, who is attracting plenty of attention for his unusual style. Here’s why Ferdowsi has become an instant celebrity:

1. He changes his hair for every mission.

For the mission to Mars, which has landed a sophisticated robot on the red planet to search for the building blocks of extraterrestrial life, Ferdowsi wore his hair in a red-streaked mohawk, with bleached stars on the side of his head. He told reporters he changes his hair for every mission (and his newfound fans are eager for photos of those hairstyles).

“The mohawk more or less stays there the whole time. But I thought I was kind of being subtle with this one. The stars were like a little tribute, but the team actually voted on this,” he told a Seattle radio station.

2. He follows a long tradition of sci-fi hair.

Pop culture has given us a strong association between outlandish hair and sci-fi. Think about it: Princess Leia and Queen Amidala’s oversized coils. Spock and the Klingons’ pointed eyebrows.

Ferdowsi’s hair looks like it could be part of a costume for a young, handsome sci-fi hero — which, in the eyes of his fans, is his role (Sorry, ladies; he’s taken.)

3. He’s challenging stereotypes of rocket scientists.

Thanks in part to Ferdowsi, the image of a scientist as a dweeb may be short-lived. “Forget the thick, black-framed glasses, polyester ties and pocket protectors of the control-room staff at the Apollo landings — this is the face of 21st-century NASA!” wrote one blogger. The Atlantic chimed in: “We may associate the agency with rockets and robots and missions to places that are distinctly inhuman; Ferdowsi’s mohawk, though, served as a reminder of the individual people — the quirky people — who make all that progress possible.”

4. You can’t help but cheer him on.

Ferdowsi’s tweets during the mission make his excitement and fear palpable. Even as a scientist, he marvels at the images from space the way anyone else would: “Mars looks so big — about the size of your open hand, arm extended! Crazy!” he tweeted.

— Washington Post