How on Earth did the Apollo 11 crew get life cover?

50th anniversary of moon landing

Adam Saville
clock • 2 min read

Companies offered astronauts life insurance virtually for free however their offers were declined

With the 50th anniversary of the moon landing upon us, it is worth remembering that Neil Armstrong once estimated the Apollo 11 landing mission to have about 50% chance of success. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that only a few life insurers were willing to offer competitive cover to the first astronauts travelling to the moon. According to David Todd, head of space content at satelite launch database Seradata, some life insurance companies wanted to offer the Apollo 11 crew life insurance for next to nothing, in exchange for the publicity they would receive in return. However th...

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