Status of the MINOS Experiment

MINOS is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment utilising the NuMI beam at Fermilab. The main goal of the experiment is to probe the region of parameter space responsible for atmospheric neutrino oscillations. This paper gives an overview of the beam, the MINOS detectors and the main physics goals of the experiment. The NuMI beam is currently being installed at Fermilab and is due to be commissioned at the end of 2004. However, the MINOS far detector has been recording data since the beginning of August 2003 and as an illustration of the physics capabilities of the MINOS detector, this paper presents the first observations of νμ and ν¯μ charged current atmospheric neutrino interactions.