We propose to obtain low-resolution spectra of a number of
  M dwarfs in the range 2.5 - 45 microns.  This region
  is largely unavailable to terrestrial spectrometers
  and contains many important features which govern the
  energy output from cool stars.  Of particular interest
  is the competition between water and methane as
  opacity sources and the importance of dust.  These
  observations will allow accurate bolometric luminosities
  to be derived for M-dwarfs and the measurement of important
  molecular bands which have not been observed in M dwarfs.
  Spectra of M-dwarfs provide the vital link toward understanding
  brown dwarfs.  These spectra will provide a testbed for
  model calculations of brown dwarfs around the peak of
  their energy output.