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New Horizons' New Target: Kuiper Belt Ice Chunk 2014 MU69

Posted by timothy on from the great-name-for-a-smoothie dept.

Vox reports on the next target destination for NASA's New Horizons probe, an ice chunk in the Kuiper Belt designated 2014 MU69. The plan is not yet final; like any space mission, complications are bound to come up. But if this selection sticks, New Horizons should reach 2014 MU69 in 2019. (Re/Code has the story, too.)

1 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Still no word on if its discoverer gets to name by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would like to see naming rights to minor objects and surface features auctioned off to the highest bidder, the proceeds going to research in the field. Think of it as a star registry with official status. The human ego being what it is, naming rights on all the knobs and craters we just found on Pluto might possibly pay for the mission.