// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Meteorite
A meteorite is a piece of rock or metal from space that survives its fiery journey through the atmosphere and lands on Earth's surface.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.
BACKGROUND
A space station is a spacecraft which remains in orbit and hosts humans for extended periods of time. It is therefore an artificial satellite featuring habitation facilities. The purpose of maintaining a space station varies depending on the program. Most often space stations have been research stations, but they have also served military or commercial uses, such as hosting space tourists.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Space rock
- Fallen star
- Extraterrestrial rock
- Cosmic rock
USAGE NOTE
Scientists study meteorites to learn about the early solar system.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Meteorite.
JAXA has developed and operated highly successful missions like Hayabusa and Hayabusa2, which returned samples from asteroids to Earth, providing invaluable 'proto-meteorite' material for scientific study and advancing technology for sample collection and return.
Through various centers and missions (e.g., OSIRIS-REx), NASA develops technologies for asteroid sample return, advanced analysis of meteorites on Earth, and planetary defense strategies concerning potential impacts from meteorite parent bodies.
A private company focused on asteroid mining, Astroforge is developing technologies to identify, characterize, and extract resources from asteroids, which are the original source bodies for meteorites, paving the way for a space resource economy.
TransAstra is developing technologies for in-space resource extraction, including 'Optical Mining' systems, targeting asteroids and other small bodies to harvest materials that are fundamentally related to meteorites.
A non-profit research organization, PSI scientists conduct extensive research on meteorites, developing analytical techniques and contributing to the understanding of their origins, compositions, and implications for planetary formation.
This company develops AI-driven technology for real-time detection and analysis of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere, providing critical data on the trajectory and potential fall location of newly arrived meteorites.
ESA contributes to meteorite-related technology through missions like Hera (part of the AIDA mission for planetary defense), which studies asteroids to understand their composition and behavior, relevant to understanding the origin of meteorites.