We present optical integral field spectroscopy analysis of the main components, with the exception of the halo, as well as of the detected small-scale structures of the planetary nebulae NGC 3242. The observations were obtained with the VIMOS instrument attached to VLT-UT3. Spatially resolved maps of the electronic density (Ne), temperatures (Te) and chemical abundances, i.e., in a pixel to pixel fashion of the small and large-scales structures of this planetary nebula are determined in this work. These diagnostic and abundance maps represent important constraints for future detailed three dimensional photoionization modeling of the nebula, as well as providing important information on biases introduced by traditional slit observations.

The formation and evolution of planetary nebulae (PNe) is largely attributed to the interaction of the fast stellar wind with the wind of the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), and to the dynamical effects of the photo-ionization of the nebular material. The physical structure of a PN can be used to assess the relative importance of fast stellar winds and photo-ionization in its shaping and evolution, but there is little information on the hot gas content of PNe. Using our recent XMM-Newton observations of NGC 3242, we have made a comprehensive analysis of the physical structure of this nebula, combining the physical conditions of the shocked fast stellar wind in its interior and the spatio-dynamical structure and physical conditions of the photo-ionized material.