Meteorite

A natural fragment of a meteoroid that survives passage through a planet’s atmosphere and reaches its surface. Meteorites preserve material from asteroids, the Moon, Mars, and other Solar System bodies.

Meteoroid: A small natural body traveling through interplanetary space, smaller than an asteroid. A meteorite begins as a meteoroid before atmospheric entry.
Atmospheric ablation: The loss of material from an object as intense heating during atmospheric flight vaporizes or sheds its surface. Ablation removes much of a meteoroid before any surviving mass reaches the ground.
Chondrite: A stony meteorite containing small, rounded mineral inclusions called chondrules. Chondrites preserve primitive Solar System material that was not fully melted.
Radiometric dating: A method for determining ages from predictable changes in radioactive isotopes and their decay products. Isotope measurements date meteorite formation and later heating or impact events.
Meteorite parent body: The asteroid, planet, or other Solar System body from which a meteorite originated. Many meteorites have identifiable source classes, but tracing each specimen to a specific body remains difficult.
Meteor: The streak of light and associated atmospheric effects produced as a meteoroid enters an atmosphere. The luminous event is a meteor; the surviving material is a meteorite.
Meteorite fragmentation: The breakup of a meteoroid into multiple pieces during atmospheric flight or impact. Atmospheric stresses split many meteoroids, producing scattered fragments and a strewn field.
Achondrite: A stony meteorite lacking chondrules, usually formed from material that melted and differentiated. Achondrites record igneous processes on asteroids and planetary bodies.
Cosmochemistry: The study of the chemical composition and processes of matter in the Solar System. Meteorites provide laboratory samples for tracing Solar System materials and chemical evolution.
Asteroid sample return: A space mission that collects material directly from an asteroid and returns it to Earth for study. Returned samples provide ground truth for matching meteorites to particular asteroids.

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