Over the past decades a large diversity in planetary systems, accompanied by a large diversity of planetary natures, have been discovered. Nevertheless, despite probable surprises, our knowledge of the solar system planets will be our guidance in the interpretation of the physical properties of extrasolar planet atmospheres. Thus, the solar system offers a unique playground to determine the best observables for such planet characterization. In the past few years, our group has performed observations aimed at retrieving the reflection and transmission spectrum of some of the solar systems planets. These observations include the transmission spectrum of Earth (via a lunar eclipse), the transmission spectrum of Venus (via the transit of Venus in 2012 observed from SOFI) and the transmission spectrum of Jupiter (via a Ganymedes eclipse). Together they have revealed a wealth of new information, such as the detectability of dimer bands (usable as tracers of atmospheric pressure) in earth-like planets, or the signatures of aerosols, hazes and metallic layers in giant planets. Here I am planning to offer a review of the observational setup of these observations, and what they have revealed about Earth, Venus and Jupiter in the context of the search for life in our galaxy