French scientists are in the midst of a project to recover meteorites plunging to Earth in France that will combine special cameras and an army of volunteers.

This unprecedented meteorite recovery project carries the name FRIPON, an acronym for the "Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network." It was launched May 28 and will eventually become one of the world's largest meteorite spotting networks.

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By recovering fallen space rocks, French scientists hope to expand their knowledge about the early solar system. FRIPON might also aid scientists in the early detection of dangerous asteroids that could suddenly smash into the Earth

The network will see over 100 fisheye cameras tracking the meteorites as they burn up in the sky above France by year-end. There are 68 operational meteorite cameras today. This eye-to-the-sky network will be complemented by more than 100,000 volunteers that will be trained to hunt for meteorites on the ground.

The French claim FRIPON is the first fully connected and automated meteorite hunting network in the world. In the network, a camera that detects a meteor transmits a message to a central computer in Paris. If two or more cameras see a meteorite, FRIPON scientists will receive an e-mail describing where it was seen.

FRIPON can pinpoint a meteorite's impact with an accuracy ranging from one kilometer to 10 kilometers. The French are confident the sheer number of FRIPON's cameras spaced some 70 to 80 kilometers apart will increase the chance of their recovering meteorites.

An average of one meteorite was recovered per decade in France in the 20^th century compared to one every two years in the previous 100 years. FRIPON hopes to recover one meteorite a year.

"If tomorrow a meteorite falls in France, we will be able to know where it comes from and roughly where it has landed," said Jérémie Vaubaillon, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory and one of organizers of the system.

FRIPON hopes to have a search team of 30 people in every part of France.

TagsFRIPON, Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network, Meteorite