Talk:Exploration of dwarf planets

Feedback from New Page Review process

I left the following feedback for the creator/future reviewers while reviewing this article: Great (and interesting) article, congrats!

Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 19:01, 27 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Should this article be nominated for a good article

It does follow all of the rules under the 6 criteria of a good article. Bennett1203 (talk) 17:34, 28 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think you can move "Proposed probes" to its own section, and probably rename to "Proposed and undeveloped probes"; they all are just mission concepts, and no agency have plans for such mission in the near future. It should also include Mariner Mark II and Pluto Kuiper Express for Pluto, and Calathus Mission and Ceres Polar Lander for Ceres. New Horizons 2 may also deserve a mention. Artem.G (talk) 12:48, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Good point Bennett1203 (talk) 15:04, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It's definitely on the way there, but not just yet unfortunately - there are still some unsourced paragraphs and sourcing issues, and the lead is too short compared to the article size to be a good summary. Also, not sure if the "Proposed probes" section complies with MOS:LISTS. Chaotic Enby (talk · contribs) 15:23, 1 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Orbital Mechanics

This page uses the phrase "long distances" frequently. The difficulty in spaceflight is not travelling long distances. The difficulty is effecting the velocity changes (delta-v) to hit the right trajectory. After separation from the rocket that launches them, most probes make very minimal changes to their course. Fuels that are stable for years (hypergolics, noble gases for ion thrusters) are generally inefficient (low specific impulse), so unless one is doing orbital capture, they are only there for station-keeping.

To do orbital capture at a TNO, the probe would have to pass Earth escape velocity, and then make a Hohmann transfer to the TNO. There, it would have to bleed that speed almost completely for orbital capture, which would require a lot of fuel.

Also, using anything but radioisotope thermal generators past the orbit of Jupiter is generally impossible. There's no "saving energy" with those—they're producing energy whether the spacecraft is on or off.

Altogether, I like the article, but I think a physicist or astronomer should probably give it a look and recommend better wordings.

Phaesphoria (talk) 01:50, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]