A Muse for the VLT

The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) is a second-generation instrument in development for ESO´s Very Large Telescope (VLT), due to begin operation in 2012. MUSE is an extremely powerful and innovative 3D spectrograph with a wide field of view, providing simultaneous spectra of numerous adjacent regions in the sky. The instrument is fed by a new multiple-laser adaptive optics system on the VLT. The development of MUSE has been a key experience for the next generation instruments, for both the VLT and the planned Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The VLT instrumentation programme is the most ambitious ever conceived for a single observatory.