Opinion: Recent developments and future directions in studying the mesosphere and lower thermosphere

The emphasis here is on chemistry, but we also discuss recent findings on atmospheric dynamics and forcings to the extent that these are important for understanding MLT composition and chemistry.

Topics that are covered include observations, with satellite, rocket and ground-based techniques; the variability and connectedness of the MLT on various length scales and timescales; airglow emissions; the cosmic dust input and meteoric metal layers; and noctilucent/polar mesospheric ice clouds. The paper then concludes with a discussion of important unanswered questions and likely future directions for the field over the next decade.