Someone paid $5.3 million for a piece of Mars
A rare Martian meteorite, discovered in the Sahara Desert in 2023, was sold at a Sotheby's auction for a record-breaking $5.3 million. The meteorite, known as NWA 16788, is approximately 70% larger than the second-biggest piece of Mars found on Earth, measuring 14.75 x 11 x 6 inches and weighing over 54 lbs. It represents about 6.5% of all known Martian material on our planet. The meteorite's reddish-brown, scarred exterior resembles the surface of the Red Planet. Prior to the auction, a small piece of the rock was sent to a lab, which confirmed its distinctly Martian chemical composition, including over 21% maskelynite, a glass produced when an asteroid struck the Martian surface.
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