Kyle J. Horn

Kyle J. Horn is a graduate student in aeronautics and astronautics whose work develops in-situ resource utilization technology for long-duration Venus aerial robotic missions. His master’s thesis advanced solid oxide electrolysis systems through dynamic modeling and feedback control of the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment, enabling oxygen production during rapidly changing atmospheric density. His doctoral research applies this core technology to Venus aerobots by generating buoyant replacement gases from the 97% CO₂ atmosphere, potentially extending mission life from four months to over 10 years. Using MATLAB extensively, Kyle develops robust system models combining laboratory and ballooning data with physical relationships, conducting hyperparameter grid searches to identify pareto-optimal aerobot designs. He implements optimization algorithms in MATLAB to maximize science return while reducing delivery mass. As a second-year MathWorks Fellow, Kyle will continue laboratory investigations of novel control techniques for solid oxide electrolysis. His research seeks to establish technological foundations enabling transformative long-duration exploration of Venus.