Overview

• NWA 16788, a 54-pound Martian meteorite, is on public view at Sotheby’s New York galleries through July 15 with bidding opened at $1.6 million.
• Laboratory tests classified the specimen as an olivine-microgabbroic shergottite after matching its chemical signature to samples from NASA’s Viking mission.
• Discovered in Niger’s Sahara Desert in November 2023, the meteorite accounts for nearly 7 percent of all Martian material found on Earth.
• The sale, estimated at $2 million to $4 million, accepts multiple currencies and cryptocurrencies and forms part of Sotheby’s Geek Week natural history auction featuring a juvenile Ceratosaurus skeleton.
• Researchers caution that if owned privately, this unique sample could become inaccessible for future analyses and public exhibitions.