O Largest Mars Meteorite that has already been found on Earth It was sold in an auction closed this Wednesday (16) by US $ 5.3 million (about R $ 29.5 million).
Weighing 24.5 pounds, the piece of the so -called NWA 16788 was sold by the renowned Sotheby’s, which in a statement stressed that the object is extremely rare, as only about 400 Martian meteorites were found on our planet to this day.
Discovered in November 2023 in the remote region of Agidity in Niger, the NWA 16788 is a “monumental copy” with about 70% more size than the second largest fragment of Mars ever found on Earth.
Analyzes of the internal composition of the fragment indicate that it was probably launched from the planet’s surface to the space after the impact of such a powerful asteroid that it transformed part of the glass material.
“NWA 16788 is a discovery of extraordinary importance-the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth and the most valuable of its type ever offered in auction,” said Cassandra Hatton, vice president of Science and Natural History at Sotheby’s.
In February 2021, a Martian meteorite containing traces of the planet’s atmosphere was auctioned by Christie’s.
It was sold for $ 200,000 (about $ 1 million)-a value far above the pre-manage estimate, which was $ 30 to 50,000 (between $ 163.5 thousand and $ 272.5 thousand).
*With information from Jack Guy and Kameryn Griessser, CNN Internacional
