  Compact cold-atom sensors depend on vacuum technology. One of the major
limitations to miniaturizing these sensors are the active pumps -- typically
ion pumps -- required to sustain the low pressure needed for laser cooling.
Although passively pumped chambers have been proposed as a solution to this
problem, technical challenges have prevented successful operation at the levels
needed for cold-atom experiments. We present the first demonstration of a
vacuum package successfully independent of ion pumps for more than a week; our
vacuum package is capable of sustaining a cloud of cold atoms in a
magneto-optical trap (MOT) for greater than 200 days using only non-evaporable
getters and a rubidium dispenser. Measurements of the MOT lifetime indicate the
package maintains a pressure of better than $2\times10^{-7}$ Torr. This result
will significantly impact the development of compact atomic sensors, including
those sensitive to magnetic fields, where the absence of an ion pump will be
advantageous.
