micrometeorite
noun
mi·cro·me·te·or·ite ˌmī-krō-ˈmē-tē-ə-ˌrīt 
1
: a meteorite so small that it can pass through the earth's atmosphere without becoming intensely heated
2
: a very small particle in interplanetary space
micrometeoritic
ˌmī-krō-ˌmē-tē-ə-ˈri-tik
adjective 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Moon dirt is full of tiny, glass fragments from micrometeorite impacts that got everywhere in the Apollo lunar landers and wore down the moonwalkers' spacesuits. 
Bradford Betz, Fox News, 13 May 2022 Moon dirt is full of tiny, glass fragments from micrometeorite impacts that got everywhere in the Apollo lunar landers and wore down the moonwalkers’ spacesuits. Marcia Dunn, Orlando Sentinel, 12 May 2022 The rapid melting and cooling caused by micrometeorite impacts on the regolith creates small globs of glassy material. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 12 May 2022 Last year, a micrometeorite shot right through the station’s robotic arm, leaving a bullet-sized hole. Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2022 Multiple layers also better protect against micrometeorite hits. Fox News, 24 Dec. 2021 Now, in a study recently published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, a team measuring micrometeorite accumulation in the pristine snow of Antarctica has provided the best-yet estimate for incoming extraterrestrial debris. Sarah Derouin, Scientific American, 29 Apr. 2021 Although both poles have potential for micrometeorite research, Jean Duprat, a cosmochemist at the University of Paris–Saclay, prefers the southern ice. Sarah Derouin, Scientific American, 29 Apr. 2021 Most of these molecules are likely stored in the voids between moon dust and other particles or entombed in the glassy residue of of micrometeorite impacts. Marcia Dunn, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Oct. 2020 See More
Bradford Betz, Fox News, 13 May 2022 Moon dirt is full of tiny, glass fragments from micrometeorite impacts that got everywhere in the Apollo lunar landers and wore down the moonwalkers’ spacesuits. Marcia Dunn, Orlando Sentinel, 12 May 2022 The rapid melting and cooling caused by micrometeorite impacts on the regolith creates small globs of glassy material. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 12 May 2022 Last year, a micrometeorite shot right through the station’s robotic arm, leaving a bullet-sized hole. Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2022 Multiple layers also better protect against micrometeorite hits. Fox News, 24 Dec. 2021 Now, in a study recently published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, a team measuring micrometeorite accumulation in the pristine snow of Antarctica has provided the best-yet estimate for incoming extraterrestrial debris. Sarah Derouin, Scientific American, 29 Apr. 2021 Although both poles have potential for micrometeorite research, Jean Duprat, a cosmochemist at the University of Paris–Saclay, prefers the southern ice. Sarah Derouin, Scientific American, 29 Apr. 2021 Most of these molecules are likely stored in the voids between moon dust and other particles or entombed in the glassy residue of of micrometeorite impacts. Marcia Dunn, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Oct. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
1949, in the meaning defined at sense 1