NASA mohawk guy: Bobak Ferdowsi with his latest tonsorial creation

Mars rover Curiosity: upstaged by Nasa mohawk guy

Ferdowsi gets a new haircut every mission. Previous incarnations range from flamboyant blocks of red to relatively sedate quiffs, and this particular one was voted for by his colleagues. In the past, Ferdowsi's follical exploits were just a Nasa in-joke. But after his exposure last night, the world's hippest astrophysicist is now an internet meme. Within an hour, Ferdowski had a dedicated Tumblr – Fuck Yeah Bobak Ferdowski– which collated the many mohawk-themed drawings, tweets and blogposts that Ferdowski's newfound fanbase had created. "Proof that Nasa has a time machine," read one offering. "PUNK SCIENCE!" saidanother. By this morning, Ferdowsi had gained 10,000 Twitter followers – and only became aware of the mayhem after the robot had landed. As one example of the meme had it: "Becomes an internet sensation. Too busy landing a robot on Mars to notice."