SMILES: A Prototype JWST Multiband Mid-infrared Survey

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) for JWST is supplied with a suite of imaging band-pass filters optimized for full spectral coverage in eight intermediate-width bands from 5 to 26 μ m and a narrower one at 11.3 μ m. This contrasts with previous infrared space telescopes, which generally have provided only two broad bands, one near 10 μ m and the other near 20 μ m. The expanded MIRI spectral capability provides new possibilities for detailed interpretation of survey results. This is an important feature of the instrument, on top of its great increase in sensitivity and angular resolution over any previous mission. The Systematic Mid-infrared Instrument Legacy Extragalactic Survey (SMILES) was designed to take full advantage of this capability. This paper briefly describes the history of infrared surveys that paved the way for MIRI on JWST and for our approach to designing SMILES. It illustrates the use of the observations for a broad range of science programs and concludes with a brief summary of the need for additional full multiband surveys with JWST/MIRI. This paper is an overall introduction to the survey and is accompanied by a full data release, described in detail by S. Alberts et al.