Papers
2
Total Citations
76
H-Index
2
About
Thomas Rohr is a leading figure in space manufacturing, driving the European Space Agency’s (ESA) efforts to build beyond Earth. His research centers on in-space manufacturing, additive manufacturing for large space structures, and advanced materials processing for extreme environments. Rohr’s major contributions include pioneering novel local shielding techniques for laser welding-based additive manufacturing of titanium components, a critical breakthrough for fabricating large structural parts like the optical bench for ESA’s ATHENA mission—a flagship project exploring the hot, energetic universe. His work directly addresses the challenges of producing reliable, high-performance hardware in orbit. With his most-cited paper, “Towards out of earth manufacturing,” garnering 60 citations, Rohr has helped shape ESA’s strategic roadmap for manufacturing in space. His achievements demonstrate how terrestrial additive manufacturing methods can be adapted for zero-gravity, enabling future long-duration missions and permanent lunar or Martian infrastructure. For students and researchers, Rohr exemplifies how materials science and engineering converge to solve the unique problems of space exploration.
Research Focus
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