A martian meteorite — the largest single piece of rock from Mars known to be on Earth — just sold at auction for $5.3 million.
The meteorite is believed to have been ejected from Mars by an asteroid strike on that planet. It then survived a plunge through Earth's much thicker atmosphere and landed in the Sahara Desert in Niger.
After it was recovered and authenticated with the official name of Northwest Africa 16788, it went up for auction at Sotheby's, where it sold on July 16, 2025 to an anonymous buyer for $4.3 million — or roughly $5.3 million after fees.
The meteorite shows the characteristic red-brown coloring of the Martian surface, which is due to the oxidized iron content of its dirt and rocks.
A portion of the 54-pound rock is made of the glass maskelynite, believed to have been melted into place by the heat and energy of the initial impact that launched it off Mars and into space.
It also still shows the signs of entry friction from Earth's atmosphere and does not show much sign of surface weathering, suggesting it landed on Earth relatively recently.
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Martian meteorites are rare. According to the Meteoritical Society, which catalogs known meteorites, there are just 401 meteorites known to have come from Mars, dating back to 1815.
For now, NWA 16788 has easily become the most impressive physical example — it's about 70% larger than the next-biggest Martian meteorite.
