The ASCE EUV Polarimeter

The SOHO mission has achieved important results in the physics of solar wind and coronal mass ejection acceleration, but most of the processes that drive this acceleration have not yet been explained. The Advanced Spectroscopic and Coronagraphic Explorer (ASCE) mission will carry on-board spectroscopic and polarimetric instrumentation of new generation that is designed to address the fundamental questions on this processes. Following a brief description of ASCE scientific objectives and instrumentation, the EUV polarimetric channel is described. The EUV Polarimeter (EUVP) is designed to measure for the first time the magnetic field vector in the extended corona through the Hanle effect, and the anisotropy of the ion velocity. The EUVP represents the contribution of the Italian solar physics community to the ASCE mission.