Apollo insurance covers are postal envelopes that were usually printed with a mission emblem cachet, stamped, signed by the crew and postmarked on the day of launch. The astronauts' families then retained these special covers as a type of insurance against the possibility of an accident in space that would not allow the crew to safely return to earth.

This procedure was carried out for six Apollo flights, including my Apollo 15 flight to the moon. Now, some 40 years after the fact, and with the crews all returning safely, the concept and identification of insurance covers has become cloudy and very complicated due to assumptions about what constitutes and defines an actual Apollo insurance cover. Much misinformation and errors abound and I hope my attempt here will help in clearing up the matter.

Just because a cover has the proper cachet, stamps, postmarks and crew autographs does not make it automatically an actual insurance cover. Many such covers were autographed after the flight and, as such, do not qualify as actual insurance covers. Unfortunately, many post-flight autographed covers do appear virtually identical to authentic insurance covers and this has been a problem concerning insurance covers. But the best and ideal way to know 100% for sure is to acquire an Apollo insurance cover from an astronaut crewmember that has been signed and verified, as I have done with my Apollo 15 insurance covers.

The only insurance covers that the crew of Apollo 15 used were those provided by the NASA Manned Spacecraft Stamp Club. These MSCSC covers were signed by the crew prior to the flight, had stamps applied, canceled and held by our families during the flight. After Apollo 15 had safely returned, the insurance covers had served their original purpose and as time went by, have become treasured and valuable collector items. There were other types of covers that were used on some flights as insurance covers, including those provided by Alvin Bishop. However, for Apollo 15 he provided covers that were carried on our flight and were therefore not insurance covers. I did not possess any of these covers before the flight.

The insurance covers I am offering are authentic and I am providing a written and signed inscription, "From my personal collection, Al Worden Apollo 15 CMP," on the back of each cover, and a written and signed certificate of authenticity for each numbered cover to verify the fact."