Where’s the Kaboom?
Sotheby’s $5.3M Martian Meteorite Steals the Spotlight in 2025.
Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.
One of this year’s most galactic auctions took place at Sotheby’s in July. A 54-pound Martian meteorite, named Northwest Africa 16788 (NWA 16788), fetched a record $5.3 million and was sold to an anonymous bidder. NWA 16788 was discovered by a meteorite hunter in 2023 in Niger’s Sahara Desert near the city of Agadez.
Laboratory analysis determined that the meteorite was a genuine fragment of the Martian crust. Scientists believe it was blasted off Mars about five million years ago by a powerful asteroid strike before wandering the solar system and eventually landing in the sands of Agadez.
Meteorites do appear at auctions from time to time; however, Martian specimens remain exceptionally rare. Fewer than 500 confirmed pieces exist, and most weigh in at only a few ounces. The impressive size of NWA 16788 set it apart immediately, and instead of spending its days being studied by scientists, it became a once-in-a-lifetime collecting opportunity.
The auction drew worldwide interest, with institutions, private collectors, and natural history enthusiasts competing for what was arguably the largest accessible piece of another planet ever offered for sale.
When the hammer fell, the meteorite entered the record books as the most expensive Martian specimen ever sold and, arguably, one of the most astonishing auction results of 2025.
Some scientists objected to keeping such a significant piece of Mars in private hands, but research access hasn’t been lost. A portion of NWA 16788 is stored at the University of Florence, and China’s Purple Mountain Observatory holds a fragment and has preserved it. Read more about the origins of NWA 16788 here.
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