Most of us have come down from the highs of seeing Pluto up close for the first time. Ever since New Horizons beamed back those photos, the question has loomed: What’s next?

We asked a few experts and Times readers what NASA’s exploratory priority should be in the years ahead. More than 1,600 readers shared their imaginative ideas. Some responses were serious and technical. Others were more whimsical, like that of Carter Read of Brooklyn, who proposed that we “send a record player bumping the sounds of Chuck Berry’s ‘golden decade’ into deep space,” because “he’s the best communicator the human race has.” (Mr. Berry already has one song in space, aboard the Voyager spacecraft.)

Below are some of the best responses, starting with the most popular. Perhaps NASA — and the members of Congress who appropriate its budget — will listen up.