The biggest piece of Mars on earth is up for auction
For sale: A 25 kilogram rock. Estimated auction price: $3-$6 million. Why so expensive? It’s the largest piece of Mars ever found on earth.
Sotheby’s in New York will be auctioning what’s known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale.
According to the auction house, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before travelling 225 million kilometres to earth, where it crashed into the Sahara.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.A meteorite hunter found it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby’s says.
The red, brown and grey hunk is about 70 per cent larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on earth and represents nearly seven per cent of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby’s says.
It measures nearly 38cm by 28cm by 15cm.
“This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,” Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby’s said.
“So it’s more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.”
It is also a rare find. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognised meteorites found on earth, Sotheby’s says.
Hatton said a small piece of the red planet remnant was removed and sent to a specialised lab that confirmed it was from Mars. It was compared with the distinct chemical composition of Martian meteorites discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, she said.
It also has a glassy surface, likely due to the high heat that burned it when it fell through earth’s atmosphere, Hatton said.
“So that was their first clue that this wasn’t just some big rock on the ground,” she said.
It’s not clear exactly when the meteorite hit earth, but testing shows it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby’s said.
The auction is part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.
