A rare Martian meteorite, billed as the largest piece of Mars on Earth, captured attention when it fetched millions from an anonymous bidder at a recent Sotheby’s auction. But the move has caused Niger, the country in West Africa where the space rock was initially found, to question the legality of its export.
The Nigerien government has opened a formal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the meteorite’s sale last month, describing it as “comparable to illicit international trafficking.”
The space rock sold for $5.3 million, including taxes and fees, to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby’s New York auction on July 16.
The meteorite — a remnant after a comet, asteroid or meteoroid survives passing through Earth’s atmosphere — was discovered in Niger’s vast, arid and remote Agadez region in November 2023 by a meteorite hunter, according to its Sotheby’s catalog note. Known as NWA 16788, the meteorite weighs 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms), which dwarfs the typically small Martian meteorites that have been found.
The investigation, led by the country’s ministries of mines, security, higher education and justice, is intended to uncover more details about the meteorite’s discovery and sale. Currently, the identities of both the seller and buyer remain unknown.
Morocco has regulations that allow meteorite hunters to legally collect and export space rocks they find. Meteorite hunters apply for a permit from the Moroccan Geological Survey, and then they must report any discovery, including its size, a photo and the coordinates of its location, as well as share some of the sample with the government agency, according to a December article published in the journal Heritage that mentions NWA 16788.
However, Niger does not currently have specific legislation regarding meteorites, according to the government statement shared on X — which Sotheby’s echoed in a statement responding to the country’s NWA 16788 investigation.
“The NWA 16788 meteorite was exported from Niger and transported in line with all relevant international procedures,” according to a statement that a Sotheby’s spokesperson shared with CNN via email. “As with everything we sell, all necessary documentation was in order at each stage of its journey, in accordance with best practice and the requirements of the countries involved. We are aware from public reports that Niger has raised a question about the export of the meteorite, and we are reviewing the information available to us in light of the question raised. Regarding the question of Niger law, we note that the government there has stated that Niger does not yet have specific legislation on meteorites.”
The discourse about the meteorite is shedding light on the murkiness around who owns space rocks that fall to Earth — a convoluted issue, according to the Heritage article.
A piece of Mars in hand
Only about 400 Martian meteorites have ever been found on Earth, according to London’s Natural History Museum. Since no human has landed on Mars, the meteorites are the closest scientists can come to studying the red planet under microscopes on Earth. Meteorites are considered cosmic time capsules, rocks enriched with the history of the solar system and the compositions of its planets.
NWA 16788 was likely blasted from the Martian surface due to an impact from an asteroid or a comet millions of years ago, according to Sotheby’s. Parts of the meteorite were turned into glass from the impact, and the space rock also bears a glassy crust that formed as it zipped through Earth’s atmosphere.
NWA 16788 is around 70% larger than other Martian meteorites of significant mass, such as Zagami, which weighs about 40 pounds (18 kilograms).
Before being sold at auction (although it’s unclear how the space rock arrived there), NWA 16788 was exhibited at the Italian Space Agency in Rome in 2024 and held by a private gallery in Arezzo, Italy, and two slices of the space rock are kept at the University of Florence, according to the Heritage article.
The study found that while natural history museums house most known samples, i.e., smaller pieces, of Martian meteorites, investors and private collectors actually hold most of the main Mars rock masses.
“The ownership of Martian meteorites is, therefore, a dynamic and multifaceted issue,” the authors wrote in the Heritage study. “While private ownership and trade are generally legal in many countries, there is growing recognition of their scientific, cultural, and economic significance. Striking a balance between accessibility for scientific research, public education, and private collecting remains a central challenge for policymakers and the scientific community.”
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