FRIPON: A worldwide network to track incoming meteoroids

TL;DR

FRIPON is an automated, extensive camera and radio network across Europe and Canada designed to rapidly detect and recover meteorites, improving scientific understanding and preservation of fragile space debris.

Contribution

The paper introduces FRIPON, a large-scale, fully automated network for tracking meteoroids, enabling immediate meteorite recovery and advancing planetary defense and space science.

Findings

Network covers 1.5 million km² with 150 cameras and 25 radio receivers.

Automated system allows rapid detection and recovery of meteorites.

Enhanced data collection improves understanding of meteoroid entry and fragmentation.

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 million square kilometers.