Martian meteorite sells for $5.3 million at auction - Sotheby's: Record set as most expensive price
A Martian meteorite sold for $5.3 million at Sotheby's on Wednesday, setting a new record as the most expensive meteorite ever put up for auction.
Known as NWA 16788, the specimen is the largest known piece of Mars on Earth, approximately 70% larger than any other Martian meteorite discovered to date.
The meteorite attracted thousands of visitors during its pre-sale exhibition and sparked a 15-minute bidding war between online and telephone bidders before the hammer fell to applause.
"This is an amazing Martian meteorite that broke away from the surface of Mars," Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's vice president and global head of science and natural history, said on July 8, noting that laboratory tests confirmed its origin after the rock was excavated from the Sahara.
The fragment was discovered on November 16, 2023 in the remote Agadez region of Niger.
About 5 million years ago, an asteroid or comet slammed into Mars so hard that rocks and other debris were launched into space. After traveling for millions of years, some of them eventually landed on Earth, becoming the largest of the three main types of meteorites to come from the Red Planet.
Astrophysicists say that of the more than 77,000 officially recognized meteorites, only about 400 of them are Martian, all of them much smaller than the one that was sold at auction.
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