Nigeria, Aug. 11 -- In November 2023, a rare rock from Mars was found in Niger. The rock was, however, controversially taken to the US, where it was auctioned and sold for $5.3 million.

There are no indications that the Nigerien government got any proceeds from the sale of the meteorite.

The Nigerien government has now launched an investigation into how the Martian meteorite was moved out of the country to New York.

The meteorite, called NWA 16788, was, in July, auctioned in the Sotheby's auction house, one of the world's largest and oldest auction houses, founded in 1744.

The rare rock weighs more than 24.6 kilograms and is considered to be the largest known rock from Mars ever found on Earth.

The sale happened during the auction ho...