World's biggest Mars rock sold for $5.3 million at auction
Known as NWA 16788, the meteorite weighs 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms), massive compared with most Martian meteorites, which tend to be small fragments, auction house Sotheby's said in a July 8 statement.
Meteorites are what's left when a comet, asteroid or a meteoroid survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere.
Discovered in November 2023 in the remote Agadez region of Niger, NWA 16788 is a 'monumental specimen' that is around 70% larger than the next biggest piece of Mars ever found on Earth, according to Sotheby's.
It is also incredibly rare: only around 400 Martian meteorites have ever been found on Earth.
'NWA 16788 is a discovery of extraordinary significance — the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth, and the most valuable of its kind ever offered at auction,' Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman of science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in the statement.
'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.
Analysis of the meteorite's internal composition has revealed that it was probably removed from the Martian surface and blasted into space by an asteroid impact that was so powerful it turned parts of the meteorite into glass.
A glassy crust can also be seen on its surface, formed as it hurtled through Earth's atmosphere, according to Sotheby's.
For some, the fact that the meteorite was auctioned off rather than donated to science is cause for concern.
'It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch. It belongs in a museum, where it can be studied, and where it can be enjoyed by children and families and the public at large,' Steve Brusatte, a professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, told CNN before the sale.
But for Julia Cartwright, a planetary scientist and Independent Research Fellow in the Institute for Space/School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Leicester, England, there is a balance to be struck.
'Ultimately, if there was no market for searching, collecting and selling meteorites, we would not have anywhere near as many in our collections — and this drives the science!' she told CNN on July 9, describing a 'symbiotic relationship' between researchers and collectors.
'If samples weren't being found, we would not have anywhere near as much to study, and so wouldn't know as much as we do,' added Cartwright.
While she believes it would be great if this 'really fabulous rock' were to be studied or displayed for the public to see, Cartwright underlined that a reference sample from the meteorite has been saved at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China.
While we don't know where the meteorite will end up, Cartwright believes that 'the scientific interest will remain, and the new owner may be very interested in learning from it, so we may still gather lots of science from this,' she said.
In February 2021, a Martian meteorite with the planet's atmosphere entrapped in it went under the hammer at Christie's auction house.
It sold for $200,000, far above its pre-auction estimate of $30,000-50,000.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mars rock found in Niger sells for millions in New York - now the country wants answers
"Brazen! It is brazen!" Prof Paul Sereno says down the phone line from Chicago. He makes no effort to disguise his anger that a rare meteorite from Mars discovered two years ago in the West African nation of Niger ended up being auctioned off in New York last month to an unnamed buyer. The palaeontologist, who has close connections with the country, believes it should be back in Niger. This millions-of-years-old piece of the Red Planet, the largest ever found on Earth, fetched $4.3m (£3.2m) at Sotheby's. Like the buyer, the seller was kept anonymous. But it is unclear if any of this money went to Niger. Fragments of extraterrestrial material that have made their way to Earth have long inspired reverence among humans – some ending up as religious objects, others as curiosities for display. More recently, many have become the subject of scientific study. The trade in meteorites has been compared to the art market, with aesthetics and rarity affecting the price. At first, there was a sense of awe surrounding the public display of this extraordinary Martian find – less than 400 of the 50,000 meteorites discovered have been shown to come from our planetary neighbour. The photographs taken at Sotheby's of the 24.7kg (54lb) rock – appearing in the lights to glow silver and red – compounded this feeling. But then some people started asking questions about how it ended up under the auctioneer's hammer. Not least the government of Niger itself, which, in a statement, "expressed doubts about the legality of its export, raising concerns about possible illicit international trafficking". Sotheby's strongly disputes this, saying the correct procedures were followed, but Niger has now launched an investigation into the circumstances of the discovery and sale of the meteorite, which has been given the scientific and unromantic name NWA 16788 (NWA standing for north-west Africa). Little has been made public about how it ended up at a world-renowned auction house in the US. An Italian academic article published last year said that it was found on 16 November 2023 in the Sahara Desert in Niger's Agadez region, 90km (56 miles) to the west of the Chirfa Oasis, by "a meteorite hunter, whose identity remained undisclosed". Meteorites can fall anywhere on Earth, but because of the favourable climate for preservation and the lack of human disturbance, the Sahara has become a prime spot for their discovery. People scour the inhospitable landscape stretching across several countries in the hope of finding one to sell on. According to the Italian article, NWA 16788, was "sold by the local community to an international dealer" and was then transferred to a private gallery in the Italian city of Arezzo. The University of Florence's magazine described the person as "an important Italian gallery owner". A team of scientists led by Giovanni Pratesi, mineralogy professor at the university, was able to examine it to learn more about its structure and where it came from. The meteorite was then briefly on display last year in Italy, including at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. It was next seen in public in New York last month, minus two slices that stayed in Italy for more research. Sotheby's said that NWA 16788 was "exported from Niger and transported in line with all relevant international procedures. "As with everything we sell, all relevant documentation was in order at each stage of its journey, in accordance with best practice and the requirements of the countries involved." A spokesperson added that Sotheby's was aware of reports that Niger is investigating the export of the meteorite and "we are reviewing the information available to us in light of the question raised". Prof Sereno, who founded the organisation Niger Heritage a decade ago, is convinced Nigerien law was broken. The academic with the University of Chicago, who has spent years uncovering the country's vast deposits of dinosaur bones in the Sahara, campaigns to get Niger's cultural and natural heritage – including anything that has fallen from outer space - returned. A stunning museum on an island on the River Niger that runs through the capital, Niamey, is being planned to house these artefacts. "International law says you cannot simply take something that is important to the heritage of a country - be it a cultural item, a physical item, a natural item, an extraterrestrial item - out of the country. You know we've moved on from colonial times when all this was okay," Prof Sereno says. A series of global agreements, including under the UN's cultural organisation Unesco, have tried to regulate the trade in these objects. But, according to a 2019 study by international law expert Max Gounelle, when it comes to meteorites, while they could be included, there remains some ambiguity about whether they are covered by these agreements. It is left to individual states to clarify the position. Niger passed its own law in 1997 aimed at protecting its heritage. Prof Sereno points to one section with a detailed list of all the categories included. "Mineralogical specimens" are mentioned among the art works, architecture and archaeological finds but meteorites are not specifically named. In its statement on the Sotheby's sale, Niger admitted that it "does not yet have specific legislation on meteorites" - a line that the auction house also pointed out. But it remains unclear how someone was able to get such a heavy, conspicuous artefact out of the country without the authorities apparently noticing. Morocco has faced a similar issue with the huge number of meteorites - more than 1,000 - found within its borders, which include a part of the Sahara. More than two decades ago the country experienced what author Helen Gordon described as a "Saharan gold rush", fuelled in part by laxer regulations and a more stable political environment than some of its neighbours. In her recent book The Meteorites, she wrote that Morocco was "one of the world's greatest exporters of space rocks". Prof Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane has spent much of the past 25 years trying to hold on to some of that extraterrestrial material for her country. "It's a part of us, it's a part of our heritage… it's part of our identity and it's important to be proud of the richness of the country," the geologist tells the BBC. The professor is not against the trade in meteorites but has been instrumental in the introduction of measures aimed at regulating the business. She admits though that the new rules have not been entirely successful in stemming the flow of the meteorites. In 2011, Prof Chennaoui was responsible for gathering material in the desert from an observed meteorite fall that turned out to be from Mars. Later named the Tissint meteorite, it weighed 7kg in all, but now she says only 30g remain in Morocco. Some of the rest is in museums around the world, with the biggest piece on display in London's Natural History Museum. Reflecting on the fate of Niger's Martian meteorite, she says she was not surprised as it is "something that I'm living with for 25 years. It's a pity, we cannot be happy with this, but it's the same state in all our countries." Prof Sereno hopes that the Sotheby's sale will prove a turning-point - firstly by motivating the Nigerien authorities to act and secondly "if it ever sees the light of day in a public museum, [the museum] is going to have to deal with the fact that Niger is openly contesting it". You may also be interested in: Sotheby's returns Buddha jewels to India after uproar Meteorite smugglers anger scientists Nasa Mars rover: Meteorite to head home to Red Planet Antarctic meteorites yield global bombardment rate A fireball, a driveway and a priceless meteorite Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Focus on Africa This Is Africa Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
NASA Aims for U.S. to Be First to Put Nuclear Reactor on the Moon: ‘To Have a Base on the Moon, We Need Energy'
'This is about space exploration. This is about this next phase,' Duffy, interim NASA administrator and 'The Real World' alum, saidNEED TO KNOW Interim NASA administrator Sean Duffy shared plans to make the U.S. the first nation to put a nuclear reactor on the moon 'We're behind, right? … We have to marshal all of our resources, all of our focus on going to the moon, which is what we're going to do,' he said during a Department of Transportation press conference on Aug. 5 Duffy is aiming for NASA to accomplish this by 2030Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the interim NASA administrator, proclaimed that the U.S. needs to 'get our act together' when it comes to the ongoing race to the moon and Mars against other nations. To do this, Duffy, 53, shared during a press conference NASA's plan to make the U.S. the first to put a nuclear reactor on the moon with an aim of by 2030. 'We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon, and to have a base on the moon, we need energy,' the politician and former The Real World: Boston reality TV personality told reporters on Aug. 5. 'This fission technology is critically important, and so we've spent hundreds of million dollars studying, 'Can we do it?' We are now going to move beyond studying, and we've given direction to go,' Duffy continued. 'Let's start to deploy our technology to move to actually make this a reality.' 'If we're going to be able to sustain life on the moon, to then go to Mars, this technology is critically important,' he added. NASA's ongoing fission surface power project, which expands on the space agency's Kilopower project, is striving to create 'relatively small and lightweight' fission systems that would operate on the moon and Mars. According to NASA, a previously discussed fission system would provide at least 40 kilowatts of power, which would 'continuously run 30 households for 10 years.' However, POLITICO reported just before Duffy's announcement, that NASA is now aiming to build a 100-kilowatt reactor. At the Department of Transportation press conference this week, Duffy noted the need for speed in getting a nuclear reactor on the moon. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'We're behind, right? … We have to marshal all of our resources, all of our focus on going to the moon, which is what we're going to do,' he said, adding, 'This is about space exploration. This is about this next phase.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mars rock found in Niger sells for millions in New York - now the country wants answers
"Brazen! It is brazen!" Prof Paul Sereno says down the phone line from Chicago. He makes no effort to disguise his anger that a rare meteorite from Mars discovered two years ago in the West African nation of Niger ended up being auctioned off in New York last month to an unnamed buyer. The palaeontologist, who has close connections with the country, believes it should be back in Niger. This millions-of-years-old piece of the Red Planet, the largest ever found on Earth, fetched $4.3m (£3.2m) at Sotheby's. Like the buyer, the seller was kept anonymous. But it is unclear if any of this money went to Niger. Fragments of extraterrestrial material that have made their way to Earth have long inspired reverence among humans – some ending up as religious objects, others as curiosities for display. More recently, many have become the subject of scientific study. The trade in meteorites has been compared to the art market, with aesthetics and rarity affecting the price. At first, there was a sense of awe surrounding the public display of this extraordinary Martian find – less than 400 of the 50,000 meteorites discovered have been shown to come from our planetary neighbour. The photographs taken at Sotheby's of the 24.7kg (54lb) rock – appearing in the lights to glow silver and red – compounded this feeling. But then some people started asking questions about how it ended up under the auctioneer's hammer. Not least the government of Niger itself, which, in a statement, "expressed doubts about the legality of its export, raising concerns about possible illicit international trafficking". Sotheby's strongly disputes this, saying the correct procedures were followed, but Niger has now launched an investigation into the circumstances of the discovery and sale of the meteorite, which has been given the scientific and unromantic name NWA 16788 (NWA standing for north-west Africa). Little has been made public about how it ended up at a world-renowned auction house in the US. An Italian academic article published last year said that it was found on 16 November 2023 in the Sahara Desert in Niger's Agadez region, 90km (56 miles) to the west of the Chirfa Oasis, by "a meteorite hunter, whose identity remained undisclosed". Meteorites can fall anywhere on Earth, but because of the favourable climate for preservation and the lack of human disturbance, the Sahara has become a prime spot for their discovery. People scour the inhospitable landscape stretching across several countries in the hope of finding one to sell on. According to the Italian article, NWA 16788, was "sold by the local community to an international dealer" and was then transferred to a private gallery in the Italian city of Arezzo. The University of Florence's magazine described the person as "an important Italian gallery owner". A team of scientists led by Giovanni Pratesi, mineralogy professor at the university, was able to examine it to learn more about its structure and where it came from. The meteorite was then briefly on display last year in Italy, including at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. It was next seen in public in New York last month, minus two slices that stayed in Italy for more research. Sotheby's said that NWA 16788 was "exported from Niger and transported in line with all relevant international procedures. "As with everything we sell, all relevant documentation was in order at each stage of its journey, in accordance with best practice and the requirements of the countries involved." A spokesperson added that Sotheby's was aware of reports that Niger is investigating the export of the meteorite and "we are reviewing the information available to us in light of the question raised". Prof Sereno, who founded the organisation Niger Heritage a decade ago, is convinced Nigerien law was broken. The academic with the University of Chicago, who has spent years uncovering the country's vast deposits of dinosaur bones in the Sahara, campaigns to get Niger's cultural and natural heritage – including anything that has fallen from outer space - returned. A stunning museum on an island on the River Niger that runs through the capital, Niamey, is being planned to house these artefacts. "International law says you cannot simply take something that is important to the heritage of a country - be it a cultural item, a physical item, a natural item, an extraterrestrial item - out of the country. You know we've moved on from colonial times when all this was okay," Prof Sereno says. A series of global agreements, including under the UN's cultural organisation Unesco, have tried to regulate the trade in these objects. But, according to a 2019 study by international law expert Max Gounelle, when it comes to meteorites, while they could be included, there remains some ambiguity about whether they are covered by these agreements. It is left to individual states to clarify the position. Niger passed its own law in 1997 aimed at protecting its heritage. Prof Sereno points to one section with a detailed list of all the categories included. "Mineralogical specimens" are mentioned among the art works, architecture and archaeological finds but meteorites are not specifically named. In its statement on the Sotheby's sale, Niger admitted that it "does not yet have specific legislation on meteorites" - a line that the auction house also pointed out. But it remains unclear how someone was able to get such a heavy, conspicuous artefact out of the country without the authorities apparently noticing. Morocco has faced a similar issue with the huge number of meteorites - more than 1,000 - found within its borders, which include a part of the Sahara. More than two decades ago the country experienced what author Helen Gordon described as a "Saharan gold rush", fuelled in part by laxer regulations and a more stable political environment than some of its neighbours. In her recent book The Meteorites, she wrote that Morocco was "one of the world's greatest exporters of space rocks". Prof Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane has spent much of the past 25 years trying to hold on to some of that extraterrestrial material for her country. "It's a part of us, it's a part of our heritage… it's part of our identity and it's important to be proud of the richness of the country," the geologist tells the BBC. The professor is not against the trade in meteorites but has been instrumental in the introduction of measures aimed at regulating the business. She admits though that the new rules have not been entirely successful in stemming the flow of the meteorites. In 2011, Prof Chennaoui was responsible for gathering material in the desert from an observed meteorite fall that turned out to be from Mars. Later named the Tissint meteorite, it weighed 7kg in all, but now she says only 30g remain in Morocco. Some of the rest is in museums around the world, with the biggest piece on display in London's Natural History Museum. Reflecting on the fate of Niger's Martian meteorite, she says she was not surprised as it is "something that I'm living with for 25 years. It's a pity, we cannot be happy with this, but it's the same state in all our countries." Prof Sereno hopes that the Sotheby's sale will prove a turning-point - firstly by motivating the Nigerien authorities to act and secondly "if it ever sees the light of day in a public museum, [the museum] is going to have to deal with the fact that Niger is openly contesting it". You may also be interested in: Sotheby's returns Buddha jewels to India after uproar Meteorite smugglers anger scientists Nasa Mars rover: Meteorite to head home to Red Planet Antarctic meteorites yield global bombardment rate A fireball, a driveway and a priceless meteorite Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts Focus on Africa This Is Africa
