Preparing the start of neutrino mass measurements with KATRIN

The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment (KATRIN) is targeted at improving the sensitivity on the electron neutrino mass m(ν_e) down to 200 meV/c² at 90% CL. The model-independent method relies on precision β-decay spectroscopy of molecular tritium near the spectral endpoint using an ultra-luminous gaseous tritium source and a high-resolution electrostatic spectrometer. With the arrival of the last major system components at KIT in the summer of 2015 the final phase in the integration of all subsystems has started. This talk presents an overview of the current activities in commissioning the full KATRIN beam line, in determining the systematic uncertainties, and in preparing the data analysis. The initial physics programme at the start of tritium measurements is discussed. Furthermore, the presentation outlines opportunities to search for new physics phenomena in the precision β-decay data of KATRIN.