Auctioned Mars meteorite: Sotheby's checks questions from Nigerian government
In July, the largest meteorite from Mars was auctioned off in New York for a record sum. It is now being investigated whether the stone landed there legally.
The Martian meteorite NWA 16788
(Image: Sotheby's)
One month after Sotheby's auctioned off the largest meteorite from Mars for a record sum, the action has caused disgruntlement among the government of Niger. The rock was discovered in the West African country two years ago before it was taken out of the country and brought to New York via a detour through Italy. The government explained that there were doubts about the legality of the export. Investigations had therefore been initiated, led by the Ministry of Justice, among others. According to CNN, Sotheby's has since assured that it has all the necessary documents. The questions are being examined based on the information. At the same time, the auction house points out that there is no “specific legislation on meteorites” in Niger.
Market for meteorites not without controversy
The dispute concerns meteorite NWA 16788, which was discovered by an anonymous meteorite hunter in the Agadez region in north-eastern Niger. It is more than two-thirds larger than the next largest meteorite from Mars. It also accounts for around 6.5 percent of all known material on Earth that comes from the Red Planet. It is therefore of enormous value for research. In mid-July, the stone weighing almost 25 kg was auctioned off to an unknown person for 5.3 million US dollars (around 4.5 million euros). The auction has already been criticized. Planetologist Julia Cartwright has pointed out that without a market for such finds, far fewer people would look for them, which would be bad for research overall.
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According to a research group from Italy, NWA 16788 was originally sold by a “local community” in Niger to an international dealer, after which it belonged to a private gallery in Arezzo, Italy. In 2024, the meteorite was exhibited at the headquarters of the Italian Space Agency in Rome. During this time, the stone was also examined. It then reappeared in New York before the auction, with two pieces remaining at the University of Florence. Where it will end up now is unclear. Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte had declared that it would be a shame “if it disappeared into an oligarch's vault.”
As part of their study of NWA 16788 and other meteorites from Mars, the research group led by Annarita Franze from the University of Florence determined that the vast majority of them are in museums, including the Museum fĂĽr Naturkunde in Berlin. However, if you add up their mass, private dealers and collectors are in the lead, they write. While the Outer Space Treaty only stipulates that celestial bodies in space cannot belong to anyone, a UNESCO convention is decisive for fragments that have naturally fallen to Earth. However, its implementation differs from country to country, and, according to Sotheby's, in the case of Niger, there is no law preventing the export. However, it is unknown how the hard-to-miss stone was taken out of the country.
(mho)
