David Oh

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

David Oh is a leading aerospace engineer whose work has advanced propulsion and mission design for planetary exploration. His research focuses on two critical areas: Hall thruster electric propulsion for deep-space science missions and aerocapture systems for Mars exploration. Oh’s most-cited paper, "Hall Thruster Technology for NASA Science Missions" (2005, 35 citations), demonstrated a prototype thruster’s performance across 0.2–2.9 kilowatts, constructing a throttle profile that enabled its use on Discovery-class missions—a key step in making electric propulsion viable for cost-constrained NASA science. His second major contribution, "Mars Aerocapture Systems Study" (2006, 25 citations), provided a detailed assessment of aerocapture for a large Mars robotic orbiter, identifying technology gaps and addressing the Opposition-class return segment for Mars Sample Return architecture. This work directly informed NASA’s strategic planning for future sample-return campaigns. Oh’s impact lies in bridging laboratory propulsion tests with real mission architectures, offering practical pathways for reducing travel time and mass in interplanetary flight. His studies remain foundational references for engineers designing next-generation Mars orbiters and electric-propulsion science craft.