Mars Fragment Fetches Millions at Auction
Largest Known Martian Rock on Earth Sells for $5.3 Million
A colossal fragment of Mars, weighing 54 pounds, has shattered records by selling for $5.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction. The meteorite, now the largest piece of the Red Planet ever recovered on Earth, captivated collectors and scientists alike.
An Astronomical Price for Extraterrestrial Rock
The bidding war for the reddish-brown meteorite, designated NWA 16788, commenced at $2 million. Ultimately, an anonymous buyer secured the prized possession for a staggering $4.3 million, with an additional $1 million added for fees and taxes.
Cassandra Hatton, vice chairwoman of science and natural history at Sotheby’s, highlighted the significance of the find. “This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth,” she stated, emphasizing the rarity of such discoveries. She noted the luck involved in its landing on dry land, making its retrieval possible.
The largest piece of Mars on Earth is seen on display as part of Sotheby’s Geek Week series of auctions in New York on Tuesday. Photo by Sarah Yenesel/EPA
— WION (@WIONews) July 17, 2024
Unlocking Martian Secrets
NWA 16788 measures nearly 15 inches in length, making it 70% larger than the next biggest Martian meteorite known. Sotheby’s reports that the rock was ejected from Mars by an asteroid impact, embarking on a journey of over 140 million miles before landing in the Saharan Desert in Nigeria’s Agadez region. A meteorite hunter discovered it in November 2023.
Analysis reveals NWA 16788 to be an olivine-gabbroic shergottite, a recently identified Martian meteorite type. It contains 21.2% maskelynite, a glass formed by the shock of an asteroid strike on Mars.
Martian meteorites are exceptionally rare, constituting only a small fraction of officially recognized meteorites. As of 2023, only around 400 of the 77,000 documented meteorites originate from Mars. This find offers a substantial scientific dataset, as noted by experts.
The meteorite had previously been exhibited publicly at the Italian Space Agency in Rome and at a private gallery in Italy. Paleontologist **Steve Brusatte** of the University of Edinburgh expressed concern before the auction about the possibility of such a significant artifact ending up in private hands, away from public or scientific access.
The sale was part of Sotheby’s “Geek Week,” an event celebrating items from natural history, science and technology, and space exploration. In comparison, the largest lunar meteorite ever found, the “Great Stuff” rock, sold for $2.6 million in 2024, underscoring the immense value placed on extraterrestrial artifacts.
