Sotheby's poised for red hot bidding battle as largest Martian meteorite goes up for auction in NY

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With a reddish-brown Martian feel, the 24.67 kg meteorite is expected to attract intense bidding in New York. Measuring 15 inches wide, the meteorite dwarfs the previous largest Martian specimen by 70 percent.
The NWA 16788 was discovered in Niger and is assumed to have travelled 140 million miles to reach Earth. As opposed to meteorites that erode over centuries, it has minimal weathering, a point highlighted by meteoriticists.
Bengaluru: The largest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction Wednesday in New York. The bid amount for this meteorite collision remnant is set to open at USD 1.6 million, according to Sotheby's auction house.
It was in the 1980s that the scientists first started to confirm meteorites from Mars with the help of isotopic analysis—a technique used to understand the age, origin, and chemical composition of a sample.
Since then, the demand for authentic pieces has grown. The global craze for astronomical artefacts reportedly surged in the 2010s, with meteorite prices climbing to record figures. In 2013, Chelyabinsk meteorite fragments were sold, with one small piece reaching a price of around $7,000 back then. In 2022, a Costa Rican meteorite was sold for $35,000. In the UK in 2021, 15 gm of Winchcombe meteorite fetched $3,500.
In this case, the meteorite is expected to fetch $4 million.
The Martian rock is part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025, featuring more than a hundred lots, including fossils and gem minerals. A juvenile dinosaur skeleton is also set for the bid. The Ceratosaurus was discovered in 1996 at Wyoming's Bone Cabin Quarry, a dinosaur fossil site.
The event opens a market for rare scientific and natural history artifacts.
CNN reported that some palaeontologists are not happy with the auction. The rock should not be hoarded by a private collector, but it deserves a museum for science and the public, according to Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh.
Beyond the scientific value, NWA 16788 represents a tangible piece of another planet. In the case of institutions, it's an opportunity to understand the clues about geology.
The Martian meteorite is a rare specimen, as only 400 out of 77,000 documented meteorites on Earth originate from Mars, according to Sotheby's auction house. A fragment of this meteorite was analysed in a specialised laboratory, confirming its Martian origin by matching its chemical composition to samples collected during the 1976 Viking space probe mission.
The meteorite is assumed to have formed from slowly cooled Martian magma and contains minerals like pyroxene and olivine, giving it a unique texture. The glassy surface as seen is probably due to the intense heat during atmospheric entry.
The rock was previously displayed at the Italian Space Agency, Rome, but the meteorite owner remains confidential as the auction house did not reveal the name. The exact arrival date on Earth is still unknown. That said, tests suggest it landed in recent years, according to the New York auction house.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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