The International Astronomical Union has been critical of groups that allow you to name asteroids or planets, insisting that it was only their realm as self-appointed gatekeepers.
Now they seem to have changed their minds and recognize that getting the public involved is the only way the public will care - people like cute robots on Mars because NASA makes them feel involved. Ironically, the IAU are doing it with the planet that got the public most dismissive of the IAU - Pluto, where 237 members outvoted a few others and decided was not a planet at all before it became one of about 50,000 dwarf planets.
They have compromised a little, allowing the public to vote on names, which is relatively harmless and also protects the public from overturning IAU members and their desire to be clever about mythology. People can suggest new ones but since this is a bureaucratic committee more than a science one, they have a whole list of rules:
Pluto:
- Names for the Underworld from the world's mythologies.
- Gods, goddesses, and dwarfs associated with the Underworld.
- Heroes and other explorers of the Underworld.
- Writers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
- Scientists and engineers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
Charon:
- Destinations and milestones of fictional space and other exploration.
- Fictional and mythological vessels of space and other exploration.
- Fictional and mythological voyagers, travellers and explorers.
Styx:
- River gods.
Nix:
- Deities of the night.
Kerberos:
- Dogs from literature, mythology and history.
Hydra:
- Legendary serpents and dragons.
Please note, however, that votes for other themes will not be taken into account, incl. the following, since these themes have already been used on Mercury, Venus and Mars:
- Space missions and spacecraft names.
- Authors, artists, directors and producers of the fiction of exploration.
- Explorers of the Earth, air and seas.
The campaign ends on 7 April 2015, after which the New Horizons team will sort through the names and submit their recommendations to the IAU. The IAU will have the final decision on how the names are used.
