2780 20160706141532.0 DOI 10.1117/12.926380 ASTROimport-937 Paladini, C. 2012 The mass-loss process is a key ingredient for our understanding in many fields of astrophysics, including stellar evolution and the enrichment of the interstellar medium (ISM) via stellar yields. We combined the capability of the VLTI/MIDI and VLT/VISIR instruments with very recent Herschel/PACS observations to characterize the geometry of mass loss from evolved red giants on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) at various scales. This paper describes the sample of objects, the observing strategy, the tool for the interpretation, and preliminary MIDI results for two targets: U Ant and θ Aps. To be or not to be asymmetric? VLTI and the mass loss geometry of red giants Klotz, D. Sacuto, S. Hron, J. Wittkowski, M. Lagadec, E. Verhoelst, T. Jorissen, A. Richichi, A. Groenewegen, M. Olofsson, H. Kerschbaum, F. 84451R Optical and Infrared Interferometry III 8445 2012 http://esoads.eso.org/abs/2012SPIE.8445E..1RP published in NONREF