It is rare for a meteorite from Mars hits Earth's surface. Less than 400 Martian meteorites have been recorded on Earth from the over 77,000 meteorites officially recognised that have been found on Earth. In total, they weight 374 kg. That's why the finding of a 24.5kg (54lb), 38.1cm (15in) long meteorite, found in Niger in 2023, was so remarkable: it is approximately 70% larger than the second largest Martian fragment found on Earth.
The meteorite is a fragment from Mars, blasted out of the red planet when an asteroid hit it, ending in the Ténéré desert, within the Sahara desert. Last week, the meteorite made the news as it was sold from the famous auction house Sotheby's in New York for $5.3 million.
<social>https://x.com/Sothebys/status/1943782808436240621</social>
However, Niger's government is not happy with the sale, and has announced that they have opened a probe into suspected illicit trafficking. News agency EFE reports that the country held a cabinet meeting on July 18 to create a committee with the ministers of Mines, Higher Education, Public Security, and Justice, to "clarify this case, which presents all the characteristics of possible illicit international trafficking." They want to know how the meteorite left the country and reached the US, but according what a source told EFE, the investigation will be very complex and will require "significant travel and financial resources."