Abstract : The muon ionization cooling experiment(MICE) is a strategic R&D p
roject intending to demonstrate the only practical solution to prepare high 
brilliance beams necessary for a neutrino factory or muon colliders.  MICE i
s under development at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK). It comprises
 a dedicated beam line to generate a range of input emittance and momentum, 
with time-of-flight and Cherenkov detectors to ensure a pure muon beam. The 
emittance of the incoming beam is measured in the upstream magnetic spectrom
eter with a sci-fiber tracker. A cooling cell will then follow, alternating 
energy loss in Li-H absorbers and RF acceleration. A second spectrometer ide
ntical to the first and a second muon identification system measure the outg
oing emittance. In the 2010-11 run the beam and most detectors have been ful
ly commissioned and a first measurement of the emittance of a beam with part
icle physics (time-of-flight) detectors has been performed. The analysis of 
these data should be completed by the time of the Conference. The next steps
 of more precise measurements, of emittance and emittance reduction (cooling
), that will follow in 2012 and later, will also be outlined.