The Internet’s newest viral star, dubbed NASA’s “mohawk guy,” says he hopes fans will draw inspiration from his work and not just his funky hairdo.

NASA flight director Bobak Ferdowsi shot to otherworldly fame, literally overnight, after viewers of the historic Curiosity Mars landing noticed him and his colourful mohawk working in the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif.

Ferdowsi was part of NASA’s team, guiding and monitoring the rover’s every move until it successfully touched down on the Red Planet early Monday morning ET.

Ferdowsi’s mohawk, which sports dyed red and blue stripes and gold stars, stood out in the sea of otherwise standard hairstyles.

Viewers quickly took to the Internet and social media to share their appreciation for the “mohawk guy.”

Ferdowsi told CTV News Channel on Tuesday that he’s still in shock from the attention.

“It’s a little crazy. I’m still dealing with the whole ‘we just landed on Mars’ thing. It was years in the making. So this is a little bit surreal,” he said.

Following Curiosity’s landing, Ferdowsi’s Twitter account exploded from less than 200 followers to more than 35,000 by Tuesday afternoon.

Twitter users praised Ferdowsi through a slew of adoring tweets.

“NASA Mohawk Guy, like half the ladies I know are crushing on you SUPER-HARD right now,” tweeted one user.

“You guys, there is a guy working at NASA who has a mohawk! PUNK SCIENCE!” tweeted another.

Ferdowsi even received praise from actress and star of the popular web series “The Guild,” Felicia Day.

“@tweetsoutloud your mohawk made my night,” tweeted Day.

Ferdowsi also became the star of several Internet memes and a whole tumblr blog site entitled “NASA needs more mohawks.”

The tumblr curates photos, articles and fan-created artwork of the NASA employee.

Ferdowsi, who started working on the Curiosity mission nearly nine years ago, said he changes his hairstyle before every major NASA mission.

In the past, he’s shaved space-related acronyms into his hair, as well as space-themed images. His current star-spangled hairstyle was inspired by patriotism, he said.

“It’s a fun way to celebrate the various things and this time it was the red-white-and-blue thing, which the team voted on.”

Ferdowsi said while the attention to his hair has been nice, he hopes it reminds people that Monday’s historic mission was a team effort, requiring the contributions of all different types of people.

“I hope I remind people that it takes all types to make these kinds of things to happen. I’m just one of those types that helped make this mission a success,” he said.

“And if it inspires young kids and other people to get interested in engineering, sciences and math, I would be so honoured and proud to be a part of that.”