A Rare Space Rock From a Different Planet Is for Sale—and Bidders Are Expected to Pay Millions

Key Points

A rock from Mars is going up for auction at Sotheby's and is estimated to sell for $2 to $4 million.

The rock was found in the Agadez Region of Niger in West Africa in 2023.

Finding pieces of Mars is extremely rare; out of more than 77,000 recognized meteorites on Earth, only 400 are Martian.

The largest rock from Mars that has landed on Earth is going up for auction at Sotheby's in New York next week—and bidders are expected to pay millions.

Martian Meteorite NWA 16788 is scheduled for auction on July 16, 2025, and is estimated to sell for $2 to $4 million, according to a release from theauction house's website. A meteorite hunter discovered it in the Agadez Region of Niger in West Africa on November 16, 2023.

A meteorite is a meteoroid that "survives" a trip through Earth's atmosphere and lands fully intact, according toNASA. The meteorite was reported to be ejected from the Martian surface due to a "massive asteroid strike" and then traveled 140 million miles through space before landing in the Sahara Desert, according to the release.

"NWA 16788 shows minimal terrestrial weathering, indicating that its physical and chemical makeup have not been significantly altered since its arrival in the Sahara Desert," says Sotheby's. This suggests that the meteorite is relatively recent and fell from space not long ago.

According to the release, the meteorite weighs 54 pounds and measures 15 inches across at its widest point. NWA 16788 features a reddish-brown fusion of color, giving it an unmistakable "Martian hue." Finding pieces of Mars is extremely rare; out of more than 77,000 recognized meteorites on Earth, only 400 are Martian.

The discovery of Martian rocks is invaluable for the extensive research that planetary scientists have pursued for many years, and their sale and collection support the ongoing demand for more specimens. "If samples weren't found, we would not have anywhere near as much to study, and so wouldn't know as much as we do," Julia Cartwright, a planetary scientist and Independent Research Fellow at the Institute for Space/School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester, England, toldCNN.

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