DALLAS, TX.- Few things have sparked as much curiosity, creativity and wonder as the moon. English author Arthur C. Clarke called the largest light in the night sky "the first milestone on the road to the stars." The moon helps control tides. It has become a measuring stick of ambition, when someone is urged to "shoot for the moon," or a qualifier of unlimited joy for someone who is "over the moon." It has captured the fascination of people for generations, from the first human moon landing in 1969 to one of the most celebrated classic rock albums, which was released four years later.

But while everyone can see the moon each time the skies above go dark, it is much more difficult to own a part of it.

Each of the 12 people who have walked on the moon's surface were Americans, and any sample any of them picked up immediately became the possession of NASA and the U.S. government. But ownership is still possible ... as will be the case when a massive NWA 15368 Lunar Meteorite is offered March 31 in Heritage Auctions' Nature & Science Signature ® Auction.

"There is nothing that captures people's fascination quite like the moon does," says Craig Kissick, Vice President of Nature & Science at Heritage Auctions. "Part of that is because lunar material on earth is so rare. It can be seen at NASA or in certain museums, but that is not the same as holding a piece in your hand.

"Lunar specimens that can be privately owned have not been brought back by astronauts. But sometimes a meteorite strikes the surface of the moon, compressing the material on the surface. That can break off and jettison from the moon's surface. Very few of those happen to head this way and make it through the earth's atmosphere, but that's what happened in this case."

The offered lunar meteorite is massive — almost the size of a basketball and weighing in at nearly 17 kilograms (37.42 pounds). It was found in the north African nation of Mali, by a couple of camel shepherds who came across it in the Sahara Desert in January 2021. It is being consigned by Dustin Dickens, President of the Center for Meteoric Studies in Loveland, Colorado.

"The Moon has always been a place of wonder for all of us," says Dickens. "Every culture has told the story of the Moon in their own way. It's a collective cumulative story told and retold over millennia. Together in an ancient past we looked up as a planet to its guiding light, and marveled at its tidal forces and predictive power. In these moments our inevitable journey began.

"As we return to the Moon with NASA's Artemis missions and study the pieces we have here on Earth, like NWA 15368, we contribute to this collective narrative. Together we take the next bold steps, looking to the Moon again and setting our sights on a permanent staging ground for the human race to explore and study the Solar System and beyond."

To Dickens, when it comes to lunar meteorites, substance is far more important than size. "For me, size doesn't mean anything," he says. "It's all about what it's made of. (It is part of the) history of our earth. More than 4 billion years ago, something came by and hit the earth, making a piece of the moon part of the earth. This meteorite tells a story about the creation of the earth, and tells about the creation of the moon, too.

"Geochemically, it's really clear that this is from the moon — there's zero question. Now anybody, whether you're 5 or 500, can look up, see the moon and say, ‘this is a piece of it.'"

The NWA meteorite is an otherworldly treasure, but hardly the only out-of-this-world offering in the auction. Also offered is a Tisserlitine 001 Lunar Meteorite (estimate: $150,000+). One of 67 meteorite lots in the auction, it was found in 2019, also in Mali, this magnificent specimen measures nearly 7.7 inches (19.5 centimeters) in length and weighs 2,096.8 grams (4.6 pounds). It features a sizable cut, polished window face on edge, revealing a glimpse into its internal composition. It differs from other feldspathic breccia, many of which are stark black and white in tone, this example offers a kaleidoscope of brown hues.

Other top lunar meteorites include a NWA 13119 Lunar Meteorite End Cut (estimate: $120,000+), a Park Forest Meteorite & Impact Crater(estimate: $100,000+) and a NWA 13038 Martian Meteorite — Main Mass (estimate: $100,000+).

Not all of the treasures in the auction originated in the skies above. A stunning Crystalline Gold(estimate: $150,000) was mined in Sierra County, California. Dubbed "The Hanging Gardens," this Crystalline Gold out of the famous Oriental Mine is massive, measuring 6.38 inches (16.20 centimeters) long and weighing 1,873.73 grams (60.23 troy ounces). It was mined by the original owners of the mine in 1975. The massive collector-grade specimen features a complex growth with thousands of microcrystalline Gold crystals with a delicate "leafy" appearance as if in suspended motion as they twist and curl around a central core. There are few natural history collectibles that can capture attention like dinosaur bones — partly because of the mystery surrounding the creatures that died off so long ago, and partly because of the massive scale. Such is the case with a "Mummified" Hadrosaurid Dinosaur Vertebrae & Tail Section (estimate: $100,000+), a gargantuan relic that stretches more than 20 feet (6 meters) in length. Found in 1999 in Harding County, South Dakota — informally known as the "T-RexCapital of the World" — this spectacular fossil can be traced back to the Late Cretaceous period some 100-66 million years ago. This massive vertebral and tail section comes from a plant-eating Hadrosaur. Two things make this fossil truly remarkable: the presence of some of the creature's tendons, and extremely rare fossilized skin, a level and extent of "mummified" preservation that is virtually unheard of in such vertebrate fossils. In addition, the remains indicate possible scars or bite marks that could indicate the tail section was used in a defensive manner and could have been bitten by a T-Rex in battle.

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

• A "Gem" Ammonite in Matrix (estimate: $50,000+)
• A Contra Luz Opal (estimate: $50,000+)
• An Elephant Bird Egg (estimate: $50,000+)
• A Pachycormus Fossil (estimate: $40,000+)
• Dodo Bird Bones (Set of 4) (estimate: $20,000+)
• Tourmaline (estimate: $15,000+)
• Rhodochrosite, Tetrahedrite & Quartz (estimate: $12,000+)