ablates
v. C1 Advanced ab·lates
v. to remove or wear away a surface by melting, burning, or eroding it. You use this when something is destroyed by heat or friction.
v. to remove or wear away a surface by melting, burning, or erosion. Often describes the process of a protective layer being stripped away by extreme heat or friction.
The heat from the rocket engine ablates the protective tiles.
The intense solar radiation ablates the outer layers of the spacecraft's heat shield during re-entry.
Engineers designed the vehicle to ablate its surface during the descent, sacrificing the material to protect the internal structure from the extreme temperatures of the atmosphere.