G. Trottet
LESIA, Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, 5 Place J. Janssen, F-92195
Meudon Cedex, France
The SMESE (Small Explorer for the Study of solar Eruptions) mission is a microsatellite proposed by France and China. The payload of SMESE consists of three packages: LYOT (a Lyman alpha imager and a Lyman alpha coronagraph), DESIR (an Infra-Red Telescope working at 35 and 150 microns), and HEBS (a High Energy Burst Spectrometer working in X- and gamma-rays from 10 keV to 600 MeV). The basic goal of SMESE is the understanding of the connexion between flares and Coronal Mass Ejections. With its combination of multiwavelength instrumentation, its high data rate and its continuous survey, SMESE should be a valuable contributor to Space Weather activities. The status of research on flares and Coronal Mass Ejections is shortly recalled in the context of on-going missions. The scientific objectives and the profile of the mission are described. With a launch around 2011-2012, SMESE will provide a unique tool for detecting and understanding eruptions (flares and coronal mass ejections) in the maximum phase of activity, when the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) should still be operating. Joint observations in the whole radio spectrum will provide complementary diagnostics.