Abstract
Context.Until recently, camera networks designed for monitoring fireballs worldwide were not fully automated, implying that in case of a meteorite fall, the recovery campaign was rarely immediate. This was an important limiting factor as the most fragile – hence precious – meteorites must be recovered rapidly to avoid their alteration.Aims.The Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network (FRIPON) scientific project was designed to overcome this limitation. This network comprises a fully automated camera and radio network deployed over a significant fraction of western Europe and a small fraction of Canada. As of today, it consists of 150 cameras and 25 European radio receivers and covers an area of about 1.5 × 106km2.Methods.The FRIPON network, fully operational since 2018, has been monitoring meteoroid entries since 2016, thereby allowing the characterization of their dynamical and physical properties. In addition, the level of automation of the network makes it possible to trigger a meteorite recovery campaign only a few hours after it reaches the surface of the Earth. Recovery campaigns are only organized for meteorites with final masses estimated of at least 500 g, which is about one event per year in France. No recovery campaign is organized in the case of smaller final masses on the order of 50 to 100 g, which happens about three times a year; instead, the information is delivered to the local media so that it can reach the inhabitants living in the vicinity of the fall.Results.Nearly 4000 meteoroids have been detected so far and characterized by FRIPON. The distribution of their orbits appears to be bimodal, with a cometary population and a main belt population. Sporadic meteors amount to about 55% of all meteors. A first estimate of the absolute meteoroid flux (mag < –5; meteoroid size ≥~1 cm) amounts to 1250/yr/106km2. This value is compatible with previous estimates. Finally, the first meteorite was recovered in Italy (Cavezzo, January 2020) thanks to the PRISMA network, a component of the FRIPON science project.
Highlights
The study of the physical and dynamical properties of interplanetary matter, such as interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), meteoroids, asteroids, comets, is crucial to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system
General description of the network The Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network (FRIPON) science project was originally designed by a core team of six French scientists from the Paris Observatory (IMCCE), the French National Museum of Natural History (MNHN-IMPMC), Université Paris-Saclay (GEOPS), and AixMarseille University (LAM / CEREGE / OSU Pythéas) to: (i) monitor the atmospheric entry of fireballs, that is, interplanetary matter with typical sizes greater than ∼1 cm; (ii) characterize their orbital properties to constrain both their origin and fall location; and (iii) recover freshly fallen meteorites
This project benefited from a grant from the French National research agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche: ANR) in 2013 to install a network of charged coupled device (CCD) cameras and radio receivers to cover the entire French territory
Summary
The study of the physical and dynamical properties of interplanetary matter, such as interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), meteoroids, asteroids, comets, is crucial to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system. A first attempt to observe incoming bolides was made in the United States and consisted of a small camera network that was operated between 1936 and 1951 (Whipple 1938), but it was only in the middle of the twentieth century that the first fireball observation networks were developed with the aim of recovering meteorites. Two such networks were established in the 1960s.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
