The rare Martian metstone, which was billed as the largest Mars on Earth, attracted attention when it won millions of anonymous bidders at the recent Sotheby’s auction. However, the move has raised questions about the legality of exports by Niger, the West African country where space rocks were first discovered.
The Nigerian government has launched a formal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the sale of met stones last month, explaining it is “compared to illegal international trafficking.”
Space Rock was sold at Sotheby’s New York Auction on July 16th to anonymous bidders for $5.3 million, including taxes and fees.
According to Sotheby’s catalog notes, meteors, asteroids, or meteors survived through Earth’s atmosphere, the remains after passing through Earth’s atmosphere, were discovered in November 2023 in the vast, dry, remote Agadez region of Niger. The metstone, known as NWA 16788, weighs 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms), and warns the typical small Martian metstone discovered.
The investigation, led by the country’s ministry of mining, security, higher education and justice, aims to reveal details on the discovery and sale of met stones. Currently, both the seller and buyer identities remain unknown.
Morocco has regulations that allow met stone hunters to legally collect and export space locks they find. Met Stone Hunter has applied for permission from the Moroccan Geological Survey, reported findings such as its size, photographs, coordinates of the location, and should share some of the samples with government agencies, according to a December article published in the Journal Heritage referenced to NWA 16788.
However, Niger currently does not have any specific laws regarding metstones. According to a government statement shared on X, Sotheby is reflected in a statement in response to the country’s NWA 16788 investigation.
“NWA 16788 met stones were exported from Niger and transported in accordance with all relevant international procedures,” according to a statement that a spokesman for Satheby shared with CNN via email. “As with everything we sell, all necessary documents were well at each stage of the journey, following best practices and requirements of the countries involved. We are aware that Niger has raised questions about the export of met stones.
According to an article in Heritage, discourses about metstones shed light on the darkness around those who own space rocks that own space rocks that fall on Earth.
Part of Mars in the hand
According to the Natural History Museum in London, only 400 Martian metstones have been discovered on Earth. With no humans landing on Mars, Metstone is the closest scientist to study the red planet under a microscope on Earth. Metstones are considered to be a rich rock in the time capsule of the universe, the history of the solar system and the composition of its planets.
According to Sotheby’s, NWA 16788 could have been blown up from the surface of Mars millions of years ago due to effects from an asteroid or comet. Some of the met stones have been transformed from impact to glass, and the Space Lock also carries a glass-like crust that forms as it penetrates the Earth’s atmosphere.
The NWA 16788 is about 70% larger than other Martian metstones of significant mass, such as Zagami, weighing about 40 pounds (18 kilograms).
Before it was sold at auction (although it is unclear how Space Rock arrived), the NWA 16788 was exhibited in 2024 at the Italian Space Agency in Rome, held by a private gallery in Arezzo, Italy, and two slices of Space Rock are kept at the University of Florence.
This study found that the Natural History Museum holds the most well-known sample: Mars metstones, investors and private collectors’ samples, i.e. small parts, i.e., most of the major Martian rocks.
“Therefore, ownership of Mars’ metstones is a dynamic and multifaceted issue,” the author writes in her heritage studies. “In many countries, private ownership and trade are generally legal, but there is a growing awareness of scientific, cultural and economic significance. Balancing the accessibility of scientific research, public education and private collection is a central challenge for policymakers and the scientific community.”
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