`` Mohawk Guy , '' a Mars rover flight director , is n't just a social media sensation -- he made an impression on President Barack Obama , too . `` I , in the past , thought about getting a mohawk myself , but my team keeps on discouraging me , '' Obama told scientists at NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a phone call Monday broadcast on NASA TV . `` And now that he 's received marriage proposals and thousands of new Twitter followers , I think that I 'm going to go back to my team and see if it makes sense , '' he said to the sound of laughter from dozens of NASA employees . Obama called NASA mission specialists to congratulate them on the successful landing of the rover Curiosity , which reached Mars one week ago . He praised them for their achievements in the phone call , which was both laudatory and lighthearted . `` Mohawk Guy , '' whose real name is Bobak Ferdowsi , has become famous for his look during the rover landing last week . As the world waited for Curiosity to touch down , Ferdowsi sported a red-and-black mohawk ; the sides of his head featured yellow dyed stars . Decoding the workplace dress code . `` It does sound like NASA has come a long way from the white-shirt , black dark-rimmed glasses and the pocket protectors , '' Obama told Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Charles Elachi and colleagues . `` You guys are a little cooler than you used to be . '' More seriously , Obama thanked the scientists for devoting their lives to the cause of exploration outside our planet . `` What you 've accomplished embodies the American spirit , '' he said . `` Our expectation is that Curiosity is going to be telling us things that we did not know before , '' he said , and that the rover will lay the groundwork for an even more `` audacious undertaking , '' which would be `` a human mission to the red planet . '' What we 've done on Mars , and what 's next . Curiosity is about the size of a sport utility vehicle and weighs 2,000 pounds . The mission costs about $ 2.6 billion . The rover , after traveling for more than eight months , safely landed on the surface of Mars before 2 a.m. E.T . on August 6 . The landing process was dubbed `` seven minutes of terror '' and involved the world 's largest supersonic parachute and a sky crane . Despite the complicated landing mechanism , the rover landed about 1.5 miles from its target , which was still well within the range where scientists expected it to arrive . `` It 's really mind-boggling what you 've been able to accomplish , '' the president told the NASA mission specialists . `` And being able to get that whole landing sequence to work the way you did is a testimony to your team . '' 5 reasons to be excited about Curiosity . The rover will head toward Mount Sharp , a 18,000-foot high mountain about 7.5 miles south of where it landed . Curiosity will climb at least a small portion of this mountain , which is composed of layers of rock that have built up over time . Using its science tools , the rover will test for organic molecules , which would indicate the planet could have once hosted life . Meet a rover driver : His other car is on Mars . Curiosity is supposed to last for two years on the red planet , but previous missions suggest that it could go longer . NASA had planned for twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity to last only 90 days , but Spirit persevered from 2004 to 2010 , and Opportunity is still chugging along . Obama may be busy with the upcoming election , but he said he 'd still like to know immediately whether Curiosity finds life -- even microorganisms -- on Mars . `` If in fact you do make contact with Martians , please let me know right away , '' he said , receiving more laughter . He added , `` I 've got a lot of other things on my plate , but I suspect that that will go to the top of the list . ''
President Barack Obama congratulates NASA scientists on Mars 2020 landing . The rover landed 1.5 miles from its destination on August 6 . The rover eventually will head to Mount Sharp . Obama jokes he 's considering naming a mohawk after ` ` song . ''