Did Neil Armstrong outsmart life insurance?

Neil Armstrong is on many people’s minds after his recent passing.

His walk on the moon was a dangerous mission indeed. At the time, he wanted to make sure his family was taken care of in case he didn’t return.

Unsurprisingly, a life-insurance policy for someone about to get on a rocket cost a fortune, says NPR’s Chana Joffe-Walt.

So he and the Apollo 11 crew autographed “covers”—envelopes that are signed and postmarked.

They gave them to a friend. On important days—the launch, when they landed on the moon—this friend went to the post office, postmarked the covers, and distributed them to the astronauts’ families, says Joffe-Walt.

It was life insurance in the form of autographs. If anything happened, the families could sell them and be financially secure.

As we all know, Armstrong came home safely. Today, an Apollo 11 insurance autograph will sell for up to $30,000.