The Small Explorer program (SMEX) is an effort within NASA to fund space exploration missions that cost no more than $120 million. Extending the larger Explorer program, it was started in 1989.

The first set of three SMEX missions were launched between 1992-07-03 and 1998-12-05. The second set of two missions were launched 1998-04-02 and 1999-03-05. These missions were managed by the Small Explorer Project Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In the Spring of 1999, that office was closed and with the announcement of opportunity for the third set of SMEX missions NASA converted the program so that each mission was managed by its Principal Investigator, with oversight by the GSFC Explorers Project.

Three SMEX missions are currently funded for their primary missions: Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) and Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX). AIM was launched in 2007, IBEX in 2008, and NuSTAR is expected to launch in 2012.

Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975 in Springfield, Illinois) is an American sitcom writer/producer, actor, comedian, voice actor, composer, and musician. He is best known as the creator of the animated series Home Movies and Metalocalypse and as the creator of the virtual death metal band Dethklok.

Small started learning guitar at age 14 after a kid in his neighborhood began teaching him about guitar and music. At his first public performance his hands shook so wildly that he had trouble controlling the guitar. It was another ten years before he was comfortable performing in public. He graduated from Palma High School in Salinas, California. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1997. During his music studies he concurrently took several writing and comedy classes at Emerson College. After graduating, he felt that the rock music genre was fading in popularity so decided to try his hand at comedy.

He was performing at The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square when he was spotted by Loren Bouchard, who at the time was casting for the central character for a UPN pilot produced by Tom Snyder Productions which eventually evolved into Home Movies.