Sotheby’s has auctioned off an extraterrestrial rock which was discovered in Niger in the Sahara Desert
The largest Martian meteorite ever sold fetched a record-breaking $5.3 million at an auction in the United States, according to a statement published by Sotheby’s on Wednesday.
Weighing 24.67 kilograms, the rock called Northwest Africa 16788 (NWA 16788) is a fragment that broke off the surface of Mars after an asteroid impact. It was discovered by a meteorite hunter in the Sahara Desert in the country of Niger in November 2023.
“NWA 16788 is covered in a reddish-brown fusion crust, giving it an unmistakable Martian hue,” Sotheby’s explained. “Regmaglypts, or surface depressions formed by frictional heating during rapid descent through Earth’s atmosphere, are also visible on the surface of the meteorite.”
According to Sotheby’s experts, NWA 16788 is approximately 70% larger than any other known Martian meteorite ever recovered on Earth.
“Pieces of Mars are unbelievably rare: of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites, only 400 are Martian meteorites,” the lot description states.
As quoted by CNN, Cassandra Hatton, the vice chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby’s, stated that “weathered by its journey through space and time, its immense size and unmistakable red color sets it apart as a once-in-a-generation find.”
“This remarkable meteorite provides a tangible connection to the red planet — our celestial neighbor that has long captured the human imagination,” she added.
The rock was put up for sale on Sunday, with bidding closing on Wednesday in New York. Before that, it had been part of a private gallery collection in Arezzo, Italy, and was briefly exhibited at the Italian Space Agency in Rome in 2024. Sotheby’s did not disclose the identity of the buyer or previous owner.
All meteorites discovered in the northwestern region of the African continent are designated with the prefix “NWA” (short for Northwest Africa) followed by a unique identification number.
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Another notable Martian meteorite, NWA 7034 — nicknamed “Black Beauty” — was discovered in 2011 in Morocco. Weighing around 320 grams, it contains a significantly higher water content than other Martian samples, with some components dating back over 4.4 billion years.
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