ATLAS3D project. I.

The observations span from the radio to the millimetre and optical, and provide multicolour imaging, two-dimensional kinematics of the atomic (HI), molecular (CO) and ionized gas (H{beta}, [OIII] and [NI]), together with the kinematics and population of the stars (H{beta}, Fe5015 and Mgb), for a carefully selected, volume-limited (1.16x10^5^Mpc^3^) sample of 260 early-type (elliptical E and lenticular S0) galaxies (ETGs).

The models include semi-analytic, N-body binary mergers and cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. Here we present the science goals for the project and introduce the galaxy sample and the selection criteria. The sample consists of nearby (D<42Mpc, |DE-29{deg}|<35{deg}, |b|>15{deg}) morphologically selected ETGs extracted from a parent sample of 871 galaxies (8 per cent E, 22 per cent S0 and 70 per cent spirals) brighter than M_K_<-21.5mag (stellar mass M_*_>~6x10^9^M_{sun}_).