In the summer of 2015
New Horizons flew by Pluto and its moons, the amazing highpoint following planning that went back a quarter of a century. But that's not the end of the story for
New Horizons. It's on its way to Kuiper Belt object (486958) 2014 MU69, known to its friends as MU69.
New Horizons and NASA realize that (486958) 2014 MU69 - aka MU69 - is a pretty meh name. So they're looking for a nickname for it.
The SETI Institute in Mountain View, California is
hosting the naming campaign .
Mark Showalter, a member of the New Horizons science team, says "The campaign is open to everyone. We are hoping that somebody out there proposes the perfect, inspiring name for MU69."
If you go to the website, you can see names under consideration and vote for favorites or propose a name you'd like to see added to the ballot.
The campaign closes at 3 p.m. EST/noon PST on December 1, 2017. NASA and the New Horizons team will review the top vote-getters and announce their selection in early January, 2018.