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yesterday

54-Pound Martian Meteorite Sells for Record $5.3 Million at Sotheby’s Auction

The sale underscores rising demand for rare extraterrestrial specimens.

The meteorite NWA 16788, the largest known piece of Mars on Earth, is displayed during the press preview of Sotheby’s Natural History auction in New York City, U.S., July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
A Martian meteorite, weighing 54.388 lbs. (24.67 kg), said to be the largest piece of Mars on Earth, estimated at $2 - 4 million, is displayed at Sotheby's, in New York, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, part of their Geek Week auction, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The identity of the rock collector has not been revealed.
At Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025, a 150-million-year-old Ceratosaurus stole the show among 122 rare items.

Overview

  • Meteorite NWA 16788 fetched a $4.3 million hammer price, equating to about $5.3 million after fees, setting a new record for meteorite auctions.
  • The buyer has not been revealed following a 15-minute bidding contest held by Sotheby’s in New York on July 16, 2025.
  • Specialized lab tests matched its chemistry to samples from NASA’s Viking missions, confirming its origin as an olivine-microgabbroic shergottite from Mars.
  • At 54 pounds, it is 70% larger than the previous largest Martian fragment and accounts for roughly 6.5–7% of all Martian material on Earth.
  • Believed to have been ejected from Mars by an ancient asteroid impact, the fragment traveled over 140 million miles before its November 2023 discovery in Niger’s Sahara Desert.