Biggest Piece Of Mars On Earth Is Up For Auction In New York

 Known as NWA 16788, the rock from Mars could sell for upwards of $4 million (approx Rs 33.4 crore), with bids already reaching $1.6 million (approx Rs 13 crore) nearly a week before the auction.

The meteorite weighs over 25 kg and is 15 inches wide. It is about 70 per cent bigger than any other piece of Mars ever found on Earth. It was discovered in 2023 in Niger's remote Agadez Region, after journeying roughly 225 million miles through space.

According to Sotheby's, Martian meteorites are exceedingly rare, comprising only about 0.6 per cent of the 77,000 officially recognised meteorites found on Earth. Only 400 Martian rocks are known to exist, and this particular specimen makes up about 6.5 per cent of all Martian material ever recovered on Earth.

The meteorite likely originated from a massive asteroid strike that ejected debris from Mars into space. One of those fragments eventually made its way to Earth, surviving the entry through the atmosphere before crashing into the Sahara Desert

This isn't just a miraculous find, but a massive dataset that can help us unlock the secrets of our neighbour, the red planet," said Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's vice chairman of science and natural history, in a video released by the auction house. "The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small," she added.