Christie’s Literally Wants to Offer You the Moon With the Sale of a $2.5 Million Chunk of Lunar Meteorite

Buy a piece of the moon? In this
economy?!

Well, if you do have a couple
million extra to spend, that’s exactly what you can do. Christie’s
is now offering up in a private sale the fifth-largest piece of
Earth’s only natural satellite for approximately $2.5
million.

The lunar meteorite, called NWA
12691, weighs more than 30 pounds. It was discovered two years ago
in the western Sahara desert, near the borders of Algeria and
Mauritania. Likely separated from the moon after a collision with
an asteroid or comet, the stone may have landed on Earth hundreds
or even thousands of years ago.

“It will probably be the largest
example to ever come to market,” Christie’s head of science and
natural history James Hyslop said
in a statement. “Every
time I see it in the warehouse the sheer size of it bowls me over.
The experience of holding a piece of another world in your hands is
something you never forget.”

One of the rarest substances on
the planet, there are only an estimated 1,400 pounds of lunar rock
known to man, roughly 880 of which were brought back by astronauts
on the Apollo missions of the 1960s and ’70s. 

“They would all fit comfortably
inside a very small car,” Hyslop said.

NWA 12691 was authenticated by
Tony Irving, a leading expert in the classification of lunar
meteorites. Like other moon-born substances, it’s composed of rare
and unknown minerals and gases, and has a silvery sheen on its
exterior. Squint your eyes hard enough and it looks just like a
rock.

Christie’s is also selling a
baker’s dozen of smaller iron meteorites. That collection is
expected to sell for around $1.75 million. 

The post Christie’s Literally Wants to Offer You the Moon
With the Sale of a $2.5 Million Chunk of Lunar Meteorite
appeared first on artnet News.