The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) is a second-generation VLT panoramic integral-field spectrograph currently in manufacturing, assembly and integration phase. MUSE has a field of 1x1 arcmin² sampled at 0.2x0.2 arcsec² and is assisted by the VLT ground layer adaptive optics ESO facility using four laser guide stars. The instrument is a large assembly of 24 identical high performance integral field units, each one composed of an advanced image slicer, a spectrograph and a 4kx4k detector. In this paper we review the progress of the manufacturing and report the performance achieved with the first integral field unit.

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HARMONI is the E-ELT's first light visible and near-infrared integral field spectrograph. It will provide four different spatial scales, ranging from coarse spaxels of 60 × 30 mas best suited for seeing limited observations, to 4 mas spaxels that Nyquist sample the diffraction limited point spread function of the E-ELT at near-infrared wavelengths. Each spaxel scale may be combined with eleven spectral settings, that provide a range of spectral resolving powers (R ~3500, 7500 and 20000) and instantaneous wavelength coverage spanning the 0.5-2.4 μm wavelength range of the instrument. In autumn 2015, the HARMONI project started the Preliminary Design Phase, following signature of the contract to design, build, test and commission the instrument, signed between the European Southern Observatory and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council. Crucially, the contract also includes the preliminary design of the HARMONI Laser Tomographic Adaptive Optics system. The instrument's technical specifications were finalized in the period leading up to contract signature. In this paper, we report on the first activity carried out during preliminary design, defining the baseline architecture for the system, and the trade-off studies leading up to the choice of baseline.