Leo Gillick
Buying land is always going to be pretty expensive, but when that land belongs to Mars, it’s going to cost millions.
Videos by Rare
What happened: Southerby’s has recently hosted an auction that sold off the largest piece of Mars ever discovered on Earth. The 54-pound piece of Mars rock sold for just over $4 million in New York. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind piece, and it travelled the distance to get there.
- The magnificent chunk of Mars on auction was discovered by a meteorite hunter deep in the Sahara Desert. It is believed to have been shattered from the face of Mars by an Asteroid strike. The impact smashed this chunk off at just the right angle for it to have travelled over 140 million miles to Earth.
This genuine piece of another planet is massive, coming in at 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches. This is more than 70% bigger than the next largest piece. It represents 7% of all the Martian materials we have on Earth. Well, that we know of anyway.
Seriously Expensive Mars Rock Real Estate
How much they paid: The bidder ended up bidding a total of $4.3 million for the Mars rock after a slow and tense auction session. After taxes and fees, the buyer paid a total of $5.3 million. A whopping million dollars in fees is enough to make the eyes water.
However, the identity of the buyer is not known. Consequently, scientists are feeling a little put out. The Mars rock itself is a real treasure to scientists and space-curious alike. As one of them highlights, speaking to the Washington Post, “This really looks like a piece of Mars. Pretty much every other Martian meteorite you see is going to just kind of look like a little rock.”
As a result of the secret purchase, there is concern that the buyer is just another selfish billionaire who will keep the precious piece of the Martian planet to themselves. They believe a discovery like this should be available for the world to marvel at. “It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch. It belongs in a museum, where it can be studied. Somewhere it can be enjoyed by children and families, and the public at large,” Professor Steve Brusatte told CNN.
