Meteoroid deceleration and mass loss are largely determined by the drag, heat-transfer, and ablation coefficients and the meteoroid mass. Hence, the inverse problem of recovering the meteoroid parameters from the altitudes and rates of their deceleration in the atmosphere is posed and analyzed in the classical theory. Successful solution of this problem includes estimation of the mass of the meteoroid matter in the terminal part of the luminous segment of the trajectory, These data are necessary for gaining information on cosmic-matter deposition onto planets and for more reliably and quickly finding meteorites on their surfaces. Recent development of well-grounded methods of interpretation of the observational data for meteoroids makes possible a new formulation of the problem of determination of their masses.
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