Prospects of Russian cesium fountain

We present the current state of things with the development of the Russian cesium fountain. Design of the physical parts, the laser system, and the optical system is briefly outlined. The preliminary results of the operation and detection with a magnetic-optical trap (MOT) and molasses regimes are described. We have made detailed temperature measurements on laser-cooled cesium atoms, exploring a wide range of laser intensity and detuning. The lowest measured temperature of about 20 /spl mu/K for MOT and 2.2 /spl mu/K for molasses are reached.