Artemis II: The insurance challenge
The launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission marks the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, a historic return to deep-space human exploration. But beyond the science and symbolism, Artemis II also raises an important question:
How do you insure something as complex and risky as a mission to the Moon?
As space exploration evolves from purely government-led programs to multi-party, commercial ecosystems, insurance has become a critical part of the equation.
What is Artemis II?
Beyond a mission to the moon, Artemis II is part of a long-term program aimed at:
- Returning humans to the Moon
- Building a sustained lunar presence
- Preparing for future human missions to Mars
The mission will carry four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, without landing. Financially, it is massive and is costs an estimated $4+ billion per launch while being part of a broader $90+ billion program.
This scale alone makes risk management and insurance unavoidable considerations.
Types of insurance involved in space missions
Space missions involve multiple layers of insurance, each covering different risks:
- Launch Insurance covers failure of the rocket (launch vehicle) during launch or early ascent.
- Satellite / Payload Insurance protects onboard equipment and systems from damage or loss.
- In-Orbit Insurance applies to assets once they reach space (more relevant for satellites than crewed missions.)
- Third-Party liability insurance covers damage to third parties (e.g., debris causing harm on Earth or in space).
- Life & Personal Accident Cover for astronauts is extremely complex and often not commercially insured in traditional ways.
- Contractor & Supply Chain Risk Cover: Given Artemis involves multiple companies, insurers must consider interconnected risks across suppliers.
Why is space risk so hard to insure?
Insurance works best when risk is measurable and predictable, and most importantly supported by sufficient amounts of historical data.
Space missions challenge all three.
- Limited historical data for deep-space missions
- High severity, low frequency risks (rare but catastrophic losses)
- Complex engineering dependencies
- Extreme environments (radiation, vacuum, temperature etc.)
As noted by industry experts, underwriting such missions remains difficult because insurers need multiple successful missions before pricing risk confidently.
Insuring astronaut lives: Then vs Now
During the era of the Apollo missions, astronauts were effectively considered uninsurable.
Being the first mission of its kind, the probability of fatal loss was extremely high and no insurer could accurately price the risk. Instead of insurance, astronauts used creative alternatives. They made their own “insurance covers” (autographs) before missions which could be sold by families if the mission failed. Some risks are so extreme that traditional insurance simply cannot absorb them.
In the case of the Artemis II, as NASA civil servants, the astronauts are covered by standard federal employee insurance, including the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) and the NASA Employees Benefit Association (NEBA) program, rather than specialized private life insurance.
Further, in addition to the healthcare benefits provided to all federal employees, the astronauts are also covered for occupation-related illnesses/injuries under the TREAT Astronauts Act for health issues associated with space missions.
What has changed since the Apollo era?
Today, space missions like Artemis II are still risky but not entirely uninsurable. This is because of
- Improved engineering reliability Decades of space missions have reduced uncertainty.
- Data from previous missions from Apollo to ISS to private launches, insurers now have more data points.
- Commercial space ecosystem Private players like SpaceX have enabled more frequent launches, improving risk modelling.
- Better risk segmentation Insurers can now break down risk into components; launch, hardware, liability, etc.
This does not eliminate risk but it makes it more manageable.
While these are huge developments in data and reliability of space missions compared to the Apollo era, the data is still very unreliable, compared to, say, that available in motor insurance.
Multi-Party liability
Unlike Apollo, Artemis II involves: Multiple private contractors, International partners and Cross-border responsibilities.
This creates a major challenge: Who is liable if something goes wrong?
Existing frameworks like the Outer Space Treaty were designed for state-led missions, not complex commercial ecosystems.
This leads to:
- Uncertainty in claims settlement
- Difficulty in assigning responsibility
- Increased legal and insurance complexity
The problem of “Aggregation Risk”
Another emerging concern of such complex missions is that of aggregation risk.
This means multiple missions depend on the same suppliers and systems and a single failure can impact multiple programs simultaneously.
For insurers, this is dangerous because losses are not isolated and exposure becomes concentrated
As space programs scale, insurers may need to combine traditional insurance, risk-sharing pools and government backstops.
How Artemis II will shape future space insurance
Artemis II is a test case for insurers. Its outcomes will help insurers:
- Improve risk models for deep-space missions
- Provide real-world data on crewed lunar travel
- Refine pricing for future missions
Successful missions will increase insurer confidence, expand market capacity and enable more comprehensive coverage.
Beyond Artemis II: Moon Bases and Mars Missions
Looking ahead, space exploration is becoming more ambitious:
- NASA’s Artemis 3 mission aims to land astronauts on the Moon
- Plans are underway for a permanent lunar base
- China is developing its own lunar exploration program
- India’s Indian Space Research Organisation is advancing human spaceflight through Gaganyaan
- Long-term goals include human missions to Mars
Each of these will require massive capital investment, more complex infrastructure and ultimately advanced insurance solutions.
As humanity moves toward permanent lunar settlements, commercial space activity (asteroid mining) and interplanetary travel, insurance will play a crucial role in protecting investments, enabling private participation and managing catastrophic risks.
However, traditional insurance alone will not be enough. Insurance must evolve to help humanity manage risks arising from its new ambitions.
This blog post is brought to you by the minds at insurancepe!
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