# Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Planetary and Cometary Atmospheres

**Authors:** Martin A. Cordiner, Alexander E. Thelen, Thibault Cavalié, Richard Cosentino, Leigh N. Fletcher, Mark Gurwell, Katherine de Kleer, Yi-Jehng Kuan, Emmanuel Lellouch, Arielle Moullet, Conor Nixon, Imke de Pater, Nicholas A. Teanby, Bryan Butler, Steven Charnley, Raphael Moreno, Mark Booth, Pamela Klaassen, Claudia Cicone, Tony Mroczkowski  
**arXiv:** [2403.02258](https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.02258)  
**Date:** 2024-03-04  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2403.02258v1/

## Key points

- The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is crucial for understanding the formation and evolution of Earth and other celestial bodies.
- Conducting compositional and meteorological studies of giant planets can help in understanding the characteristics of exoplanets.
- Spectroscopic observations of atmospheres provide valuable information about planetary habitability and availability of chemical compounds necessary for life.
- Limitations exist in current (sub)millimeter observations related to dynamic range, spatial coverage, temporal coverage, and sensitivity.
- The proposed Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) aims to address these challenges by enhancing capabilities such as improved spatial coverage, resolution, bandwidth, dynamic range, and sensitivity.
- AtLAST's design considers key planetary science use cases like characterizing wind fields, measuring compositions of icy moon atmospheres, detecting new astrobiologically relevant gases, performing isotopic surveys of comets, and supporting interplanetary space missions with temporally-resolved measurements.
- Enhanced capabilities of AtLAST could lead to a deeper understanding of planetary environments by shedding light on chemistry and physics governing these environments, unraveling origins of prebiotic molecules, and exploring overall habitability potential.

## Summary

The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is crucial for gaining insights into the formation and evolution of Earth and other celestial bodies. By conducting compositional and meteorological studies of the giant planets, we can lay the groundwork for understanding the characteristics of exoplanets that are commonly observed. Additionally, spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, moons, and comets provide valuable information about the habitability of planetary environments both in the past and present, as well as the availability of chemical compounds necessary for life. While significant progress has been made in these areas through prior (sub)millimeter observations, there are limitations in terms of dynamic range, spatial and temporal coverage, as well as sensitivity with existing telescopes and interferometers. To address these challenges, the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a proposed 50-meter class single dish facility, takes into account key planetary science use cases. These include fully characterizing planetary wind fields and atmospheric thermal structures, measuring compositions of icy moon atmospheres and plumes, detecting new astrobiologically relevant gases, performing isotopic surveys of comets, and supporting interplanetary space missions with temporally-resolved measurements. The enhanced capabilities proposed for AtLAST such as improved spatial coverage (several arcminutes), resolution ($\sim1.2''-12''$), bandwidth (several tens of GHz), dynamic range ($\sim10^5$), and sensitivity ($\sim1$ mK km s$^{-1}$) would enable a deeper understanding of planetary environments. This includes shedding light on the chemistry and physics governing these environments, unraveling the origins of prebiotic molecules, and exploring the overall habitability potential of planetary systems. With its advanced capabilities tailored to address key scientific questions in planetary science, AtLAST holds promise for unlocking new discoveries that could reshape our understanding of celestial bodies within our Solar System and beyond.