The largest known Martian meteorite ever found on Earth, identified as NWA 16788, was auctioned by Sotheby's in New York for $5.3 million including fees, exceeding initial estimates of $2 million to $4 million, according to The Independent. The sale marks a milestone for both the scientific community and private collectors, as NWA 16788 is described as the most comprehensive specimen from Mars to date.
Weighing just over 54 pounds (25 kilograms) and measuring nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches (375 mm by 279 mm by 152 mm), NWA 16788 represents approximately 7% of all Martian material on Earth. Discovered in November 2023 by an anonymous meteorite hunter in the remote Agadez region of Niger's Sahara Desert, the meteorite traveled approximately 225 million kilometers (140 million miles) through space before landing on Earth.
Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's Vice President of Science and Natural History, emphasized the rarity of the find. "This is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot," she said, according to The Independent. Describing it as "a find that happens only once in a generation," Hatton noted its immense size and unmistakable red color.
The meteorite's Martian origin was confirmed through special laboratory tests. Sotheby's officials stated that its chemical composition matches data from NASA's Viking mission of 1976. A small piece of NWA 16788 was analyzed, revealing that it is classified as an olivine-gabbroic shergottite, a relatively new type of Martian meteorite formed from the slow cooling of magma. The presence of minerals such as olivine and pyroxene contributes to its coarse-grained texture and deep red hue.
Prior to the auction, NWA 16788 was exhibited at the Italian Space Agency in Rome during the European Researchers' Night 2024 and displayed in a private gallery in Arezzo, Tuscany. Two advance bids of $1.9 million and $2 million were submitted, setting the starting price at $2 million. While live bidding progressed more slowly than anticipated, the final bid reached $4.3 million. Including commission and additional fees, the total sale price amounted to $5.3 million.
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, which is common in such acquisitions for reasons of security or discretion. Hatton noted that "people have all kinds of reasons to keep it a secret," adding that collectors often donate their purchases to museums or allow them to be displayed, sometimes accompanied by funding for research.
The auction coincided with the sale of other notable pieces, including a skeleton of a juvenile Ceratosaurus nasicornis, which was sold for $30.5 million, far exceeding the initial estimate of $4 million to $6 million. The Ceratosaurus skeleton, measuring more than 6 feet tall and nearly 11 feet long, lived about 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period.
Sotheby's Geek Week 2025 event featured 122 rare exhibits, including meteorites, fossils, and gem-quality minerals.
Experts believe that NWA 16788 was launched from the Martian surface by a violent asteroid impact. The force of the collision was so powerful that some regions of the meteorite were transformed into glass due to the intense heat and pressure. Sotheby's representatives described NWA 16788 as "a geological time capsule from another world." Martian meteorites are exceedingly rare on Earth, with fewer than 400 known meteorites out of more than 77,000 officially recognized. Most are no larger than a pebble, making NWA 16788's size and completeness remarkable.
"This isn't just a miraculous find, but a massive dataset that can help us unlock the secrets of our neighbor, the red planet," Hatton said, as reported by The Independent.
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