The largest known Mars metstone just sold at auction for $5.29 million, selling far more than $4 million from the asking price of $2 million. A large chunk of the Red Planet will help you learn more about our universe’s neighbors if you are allowed to properly study.
The met stone, known as North West Africa (NWA) 16788, is about twice the size of a basketball, weighs 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms), and is an auction house selling space rocks, according to Sotheby, which is “the largest Martian part of ever.”
According to Sotheby’s, it is about 70% larger than the previous known Martian metstones, and is said to have a “deep red tint” and “glass skin.”
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Anonymous Metstone Hunter recovered NWA 16788 from parts of Niger’s Sahara Desert in November 2023. Space rocks have been known to scientists up until now, but have not been studied in detail.
“NWA 16788 is a geological time capsule from another world,” wrote a representative of Sotheby’s. “There are less than 400 Martian metstones recorded so far, and this specimen, not larger than pebbles, provides the greatest concrete connection to the planet that has captivated humanity for centuries.”
Related: 32 things on Mars that don’t seem to be there
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The met stones were sold at a natural history-themed auction held at the New York Auction House in Satheby on Wednesday (July 16th) and sold along with over 100 other lots in dinosaur fossils, megalodon teeth, neanderthal tools, rare minerals, “fossilized lighting” and several other meteor stones.
On sale at the same auction was the mounted skeleton of a young Seratosaurus, a disciple dinosaur who lived in the late Jurassic period. The skeleton sold for $30.5 million and became the third most expensive dinosaur fossil sold at auction. The most expensive fossil ever sold was the Stegosaurus Skeleton, named “Apex,” which sold for $44.6 million in July 2024.
What can we learn from the Met stones of Mars?
Mars’ metstones are masses of red planets that have been ejected into space as asteroids and comets collide with the alien world. Most of these fragments could be drifting into space for millions, if not billions, before they ultimately fall to Earth.
Several Martian rovers are investigating the rocks on the red planet, but these robots have not returned to Earth so far. This is unlikely to change due to the recent cancellation of NASA’s Mars sample return mission. (The planned Chinese mission could soon bring Mars samples back to Earth in 2031.)
Mars metstones on Earth have already led to multiple discoveries. For example, in 2023, researchers discovered a “huge diversity” of organic compounds hidden in rocks recovered from Morocco. And in 2024, experts revealed evidence of the ancient waters of Mars in rediscovered metstones found in university collections.
Researchers also tracked the possible origins of over 200 Mars Metstones, discovered that they could link to five different impact sites on Mars, suggesting that space locks could be used to study specific Mars locations.
Whether researchers can learn more about the Red Planet in NWA 16788 depends on whether new owners will allow scientists to study it.
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