What is a meteoroid called if it lands on the Earth's surface?

A meteoroid is called a meteorite if it survives its passage through the atmosphere and lands on Earth's surface.

The terminology changes as the object moves. In space, a rocky or metallic fragment is a meteoroid. When it enters an atmosphere and produces a visible glowing streak, it is called a meteor—the familiar “shooting star.” If part of that object survives the intense heating and reaches the ground, the surviving material is a meteorite.

Meteorites can come from asteroids, comets, the Moon, or even Mars. Scientists commonly divide them into stony, iron, and stony-iron groups, based on their composition. They are valuable because they preserve material from beyond Earth, including ancient pieces left over from the Solar System's formation. A meteorite is therefore not the flash seen in the sky; it is the piece that remains afterward on the ground.