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Why do most meteoroids burn up or break apart before reaching Earth’s surface?

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asteroid Ida and its satellite, Dactyl — Small body Asteroid Ida and its satellite, Dactyl, photographed by the Galileo spacecraft on August 28, 1993, from a distance of about 10,870 km (6,750 miles). Ida is about 56 km (35 miles) long and shows the irregular shape and impact craters characteristic of many asteroids. The Galileo image revealed that Ida is accompanied by a tiny companion about 1.5 km (1 mile) wide, the first proof that some asteroids have natural satellites.

Most meteoroids burn up or break apart upon entering Earth’s atmosphere due to the extreme conditions created by their high-velocity entry. As these objects travel through space, they are accelerated by Earth’s gravity to speeds ranging from 11.2 km per second to as high as 72 km per second.1

When a meteoroid hits the atmosphere, it encounters atmospheric gas molecules. The resulting friction and energetic collisions convert the meteoroid's immense kinetic energy into heat. This process causes two primary forms of destruction:12

Ablation: The intense heat vaporizes and ionizes the surface material of the meteoroid, causing it to lose mass.1
Fragmentation: Aerodynamic pressure often exceeds the object's internal crushing strength, causing it to break apart or explode.1

Because of these forces, the vast majority of meteoroids are destroyed before reaching the surface. Only those with sufficient initial mass, high crushing strength, or specific entry trajectories are likely to survive as meteorites.12