It’s the largest piece of Mars ever discovered on Earth — a 54-pound meteorite that fetched greater than $5 million at a New York public sale final month, setting a world file.
However within the West African nation of Niger, the place the rusty-red rock was unearthed within the Sahara Desert, officers have launched an investigation into what they name doable “illicit international trafficking,” claiming it could have been smuggled in another country. Sotheby’s, the public sale home, has disputed the declare.
The federal government of Niger says it has launched an official investigation “to identify the circumstances of its discovery and sale.” Whereas the nation doesn’t have particular laws concerning meteorites, a world heritage legislation is being regarded into.
Right here’s what to know in regards to the meteorite and the authorized dispute:
How the meteorite was discovered
Sotheby’s stated the rock, named NWA 16788, was blown off the floor of Mars by a large asteroid strike and traveled 140 million miles to Earth.
“The odds of this getting from there to here are astronomically small,” Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s vice chairman of science and pure historical past, stated in an public sale home video.
It was found within the Sahara in northwestern Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, in keeping with the public sale home. His id was not disclosed. Nor was the id of the client final month.
The biggest ever Martian meteorite is on view for the primary time at Sotheby’s earlier than an public sale on July 8, 2025, in New York Metropolis.
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu by way of Getty Photographs
Meteorite searching is rising in arid Saharan international locations like Niger. Although meteorites can fall anyplace on Earth, the Sahara has change into a major spot for his or her discovery partly because of the favorable local weather for his or her preservation.
Hunters usually seek for area rocks that may be bought to collectors or scientists. The rarest and most valuable are from Mars and the moon.
In response to the Heritage educational journal, the rock was bought to a world seller earlier than it ended up in a personal gallery in Italy. A workforce of scientists from the College of Florence examined the rock final 12 months to be taught extra about its construction and the place it got here from earlier than falling to Earth, the publication stated.
The meteorite was additionally briefly on show in Rome earlier than it was subsequent seen in public in New York final month throughout the public sale. It’s the largest meteorite from Mars, however not the most important meteorite ever discovered. In response to NASA, a meteorite initially weighing over 100 tons as soon as fell in Namibia.
Why Niger is investigating
Niger’s authorities introduced an investigation final month to find out the circumstances of the meteorite’s discovery and sale, saying in a press release it was “akin to illicit international trafficking.”
Final week, President Abdourahamane Tiani suspended the export of “precious stones, semi-precious stones and meteorites nationwide” to make sure their traceability.
A Martian meteorite, weighing 54.388 lbs. (24.67 kg), is alleged to be the most important piece of Mars on Earth.
Richard Drew / AP
Sotheby’s, which often auctions meteorites, stated in a press release despatched to The Related Press that the meteorite was exported from Niger and transported consistent with all related worldwide procedures.
“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,” the assertion learn.
Authorities in Niger didn’t reply to AP questions.
What worldwide legislation says
Whereas international agreements are in place to manage the commerce of cultural artifacts, there’s ambiguity about whether or not meteorites are lined.
Patty Gerstenblith, a cultural heritage lawyer and professional on illicit commerce, stated that underneath the UNESCO conference on cultural property — which Niger and the U.S. have ratified — meteorites can qualify as cultural property.
Nevertheless, Gerstenblith stated Niger must show it owned the meteorite and that it was stolen, as unlawful export from the nation doesn’t make the meteorite unlawful within the U.S.
“If the meteorite was not stolen and if it was properly declared upon import into the U.S., then it would not seem that Niger can recover the meteorite,” she instructed the AP.
Some international locations, like Morocco, one of many main sources of meteorites on the worldwide market, require restitution if the objects are found on their territory. However enforcement has been difficult because of the huge desert areas and casual buying and selling networks.
