What is the best functional language for scientific programming?

I must say that mathematica beats every other option hands down in terms of language power, but trails waaaay behind when it comes to price. I'm happy with Wolfram's student license though :)

Take a look at factor. The main designer is a mathematician (amongst other things) and the language comes with an extensive math library. The number tower is one of the best in my opinion, up there with the most advanced Scheme implementations.<p><a href="http://factorcode.org" rel="nofollow">http://factorcode.org</a>