Ionization Cooling is the only practical solution to preparing high brilliance muon beams for a neutrino factory or muon collider. The muon ionization cooling experiment (MICE) is under development at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (UK) by an international collaboration. The muon beam line has been commissioned and first measurements of emittance with particle physics detectors have been performed. The remaining apparatus is currently under construction. First results with a liquid-hydroge n absorber will be produced in 2013; a couple of years later a full cell of a representative ionization cooling channel, including RF re-acceleration, will be in operation. The design offers opportunities for tests with various absorbers and several optic s configurations. Results will be compared with detailed simulations of cooling channel performance to ensure full understanding of the cooling process.