Recent progress in laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms is pavi
ng the way for the development of more accurate caesium atomic clocks.
This paper surveys the progress of ground-based fountain clocks, repo
rting in detail on some recent results obtained with the prototype clo
ck under development at LPTF, and also discusses the prospects for sat
ellite-based clocks, which, taking advantage of a reduced-gravity envi
ronment, may enable the full potential of laser cooling to be realized
.