A Piece of Mars Up for Sale for 4 Million Dollars

SadaNews - The largest known piece of Mars found on Earth is set to go up for auction on Wednesday, with expectations that its value could reach 4 million dollars due to the rarity of this celestial body.

Sotheby’s auction house announced the auction for this meteorite, describing it as a "very rare discovery," with an opening price of 1.6 million dollars.

According to the auction's official website, participants will compete for the acquisition of the largest piece of Mars currently on the surface of the Earth, which is believed to have been ejected from the surface of the Red Planet due to a massive asteroid impact.

This rock traveled 140 million miles through space before penetrating the Earth's atmosphere and landing in the Sahara Desert, according to the auction house in New York.

This meteorite is known as (NWA 16788) and was discovered on November 16, 2023, by a meteorite hunter in the remote Agadez region of Niger.

(NWA 16788) is nearly 70% larger than the second largest Martian piece found on Earth to date.

According to the auction announcement, Martian rocks are considered "extremely rare." There are over 77,000 known meteorites on the surface of the Earth, among which only 400 originate from Mars, with a total weight of 825 pounds (about 373 kilograms).

Sotheby’s stated that the weight of (NWA 16788) is 24.67 kilograms, equivalent to about 54 pounds, accounting for 6.5% of the total known materials from Mars currently on Earth.

The size of this piece is 14.75 × 11 × 6 inches, and it is covered with a reddish-brown fusion crust, which Sotheby’s described as giving the body a "distinctive Martian color."

The piece also features surface indentations likely caused by friction as it penetrated the Earth's atmosphere.

The listing indicates that the piece has only undergone minimal terrestrial weathering, meaning its physical and chemical composition has not changed significantly since its arrival on Earth. Sotheby’s commented: "In other words, (NWA 16788) is likely a relatively recent arrival on our planet, having fallen from outer space not long ago."

This meteorite will be offered in Sotheby’s Natural History Sale, which also includes a number of natural wonders such as other meteorites, minerals, and fossils.

Other notable exhibits include a mounted and ready-for-display skeleton of a small dinosaur of the type (Ceratosaurus nasicornis), which could sell for between 4 and 6 million dollars.

The live auction for the meteorite (NWA 16788) will commence at 10 AM on July 16, with an opening price of 1.6 million dollars, amidst expectations that the final price could range between 2 and 4 million dollars.

Source: "Fox Business"