An Overview of the Solar-C Mission

Solar-C is a new mission in solar and heliospheric physics that is being proposed to JAXA for launch in 2020. It will be led by Japan with major contributions from the US and Europe. The main scientific objectives of the mission are to: * Determine the properties and evolution of the three dimensional magnetic field, especially on small spatial scales, using direct spectro-polarimetric measurements in the photosphere and chromosphere, and accurate model extrapolations and dynamic simulations into the corona that are based, for the first time, on boundary fields observed in a low plasma beta region; * Observe and understand fundamental physical processes such as magnetic reconnection, magneto-hydrodynamic waves, shocks, turbulence, and plasma instabilities * Reveal the mechanisms responsible for the heating and dynamics of the chromosphere and corona and the acceleration of the solar wind, and understand how plasma and energy are transferred between different parts of the solar atmosphere; * Determine the physical origin of the large-scale explosions and eruptions (flares, jets, and CMEs) that drive short-term solar, heliospheric, and geospace variability. To achieve the science objectives, Solar-C will deploy a carefully coordinated suite of three complementary instruments: the Solar Ultra-violet Visible and IR Telescope (SUVIT), the high-throughput EUV Spectroscopic Telescope (EUVST), and an X-ray Imaging Telescope/Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope (XIT). For the first time, it will simultaneously observe the entire atmosphere---photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona---and do so with essentially the same spatial and temporal resolution at all locations. As is the case for other solar observatories, the Solar-C mission will have an open data policy. We provide an overview of the mission and its contributions to the future of solar physics and space weather research.