Exploring the Dynamic Ultraviolet Universe with UVEX

The Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) is a Medium Class Explorer (MIDEX) mission, currently undergoing a competitive Phase A study, that will explore the Ultraviolet Universe. UVEX is built on three scientific pillars: (1) Exploring the low-mass, low-metallicity galaxy frontier; (II) Providing new views of the dynamic universe, and (III) Leaving a broad legacy of modern, deep synoptic surveys adding to the panchromatic richness of 21st century astrophysics. Exploring the low-mass galaxy frontier is forefront because low-mass galaxies dominate the local (z < 0.3) population, and the processes taking place in their low-metallicity, actively star-forming environments are largely unexplored. UVEX observations will provide crucial templates for understanding the high-redshift population of low-mass, low-metallicity systems discovered by ALMA and JWST. UVEX opens new views on the dynamic universe by discovering and diagnosing the early UV aftermaths of gravitational-wave-discovered neutron star mergers. Through rapid spectroscopy, it will probe the evolutionary history of massive stars in the moments before their demise, and provide a resource for the entire community for target of opportunity UV spectroscopic follow up of transients. The UVEX deep, synoptic allsky surveys will likely be its most important legacy, replacing GALEX with a survey that: is cadenced; includes the Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds; provides rapid transient alerts to the community; and achieves depths and resolution matching modern optical/IR surveys with Rubin, Roman and Euclid. We will describe the UVEX science goals and objectives, and provide an overview of the mission and its implementation.