Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — A rare Martian meteorite has fetched $5.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction, setting a new world record as the most expensive meteorite ever sold.
Identified as NWA 16788, the space rock weighing 24.5 kilograms is also the largest Martian meteorite ever discovered on Earth. The bidding war for the meteorite lasted 15 minutes, with fierce competition between online and phone bidders.
“This is an extraordinary Martian meteorite that was blasted off the surface of Mars,” said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s Global Head of Science & Natural History.
The fragment was found on earth in November 2023 by a meteorite hunter in the remote Agadez region of Niger, deep within the Sahara Desert. Locals immediately suspected it was no ordinary rock.
“When it was taken to the lab and analyzed, we realized it was from Mars,” Hatton state, as reported by Reuters. “Then when the results came in and we compared it, we understood, it wasn’t just from Mars, it was the largest Martian piece ever found on our planet.”
NWA 16788 is 70% larger than the previous record holder, and its sheer size makes it an exceptionally rare find. Of the roughly 400 known Martian meteorites on Earth, most are small fragments. This specimen alone represents 6.5% of all known Martian material on Earth.
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The rock’s origin traces back around 5 million years ago, when a powerful asteroid or comet struck Mars, ejecting debris into space. NWA 16788 traveled approximately 140 million miles before landing on Earth. Remarkably, it survived the fiery entry through Earth’s atmosphere and came to rest in the desert, rather than falling into the ocean, an environment that preserved it for discovery.
Sporting a reddish hue reminiscent of the Red Planet and bearing fusion crust from atmospheric entry, the meteorite is considered a scientific treasure.
“NWA 16788 is an extraordinarily important discovery, the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth, and the most valuable ever offered at auction,” said Hatton, as reported by IFL Science. “This incredible stone provides a tangible connection to the Red Planet, our cosmic neighbor that has long captivated human imagination.”
(Raidi/Agung)
