Investigating the $5 million sale of Earth's largest Mars rock: what Niger is probing into
Controversy Surrounds the Sale of a Mars Meteorite
A Mars meteorite, NWA 16788, worth over $5 million, has been at the centre of a legal dispute between Sotheby's auction house and the government of Niger. The meteorite, discovered in the Sahara Desert in November 2023, was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York last month.
Niger's government has launched an investigation into the meteorite's discovery and sale, claiming it may have been smuggled out of the country. President Abdourahamane Tiani of Niger has suspended the export of precious and semiprecious stones, as well as meteorites, nationwide to ensure their traceability.
Sotheby's, however, maintains that the meteorite was legally obtained and exported with all necessary documents. The auction house has stated that the meteorite was blown off Mars by an asteroid strike and traveled 140 million miles to Earth.
Patty Gerstenblith, a cultural heritage lawyer, has stated that under the UNESCO convention on cultural property, rare minerals like meteorites can qualify as cultural property. If the meteorite was not stolen and was properly declared upon import into the U.S., it would not seem that Niger can recover the meteorite, according to Gerstenblith.
Paul Sereno, a paleontologist, is campaigning to return Nigeria's cultural and natural heritage, including meteorites. Sereno argues that when laws clearly state that rare minerals like meteorites are cultural artifacts, one cannot simply take something that is unique and valuable to a country.
The case highlights the legal ambiguity surrounding meteorites, which fall under a patchwork of national laws, international heritage principles, and the absence of uniform ownership rules. Meteorite ownership varies by country, as exemplified by the U.S. rule favouring landowners versus Niger’s heritage protection laws.
Raising ethical and scientific concerns, the sale and privatization of highly valuable and scientifically important meteorites like NWA 16788 should remain accessible for research and public education rather than disappearing into private collections.
This dispute may set a precedent for African and other countries to develop clearer legal frameworks or international agreements to govern meteorite discoveries, ensuring fair governance, scientific accessibility, and national benefit. This case mirrors broader resource governance challenges in Africa related to gold, diamonds, and cultural artifacts.
The investigation into the Mars meteorite NWA 16788 continues, with both parties presenting their arguments and implications for international meteorite trafficking and regulation.
