27-04-2025
Neil Armstrong's Children: All About the Late Astronaut's Sons Mark and Rick and Daughter Karen
Neil Armstrong was famously the first man to walk on the moon. But at home, his three children — Mark, Karen and Rick — just knew him as "Dad."
Neil welcomed his kids with Janet Shearon Armstrong, to whom he was married for 38 years, from 1956 to 1994, according to Neil's biography First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. In mid-1956, Neil and Janet lost a child when Janet spontaneously miscarried. (Neil and Janet later divorced.)
Neil's daughter, Karen, died of pneumonia when she was 2 years old after six months of treatment for an inoperable brain tumor. The loss devastated the family, especially Neil, who entered his name for astronaut selection only a few months after her death.
'The death of his little girl caused him to invest those energies into something very positive and that's when he started into the space program.' June said in First Man.
While it may seem extraordinary to watch a parent walk on the moon, to Neil's sons, it was part of his job, Rick told The New York Times in September 2018.
'I intellectually get it,' he said. 'But internally I'm not sure I will ever get it. It's sort of just my dad.'
Here's everything to know about Neil Armstrong's kids, Rick, Mark and Karen.
Neil and Janet Armstrong's elder son, Eric Alan "Rick" Armstrong, was born in Lancaster, Calif., on June 30, 1957.
As a little boy, Rick loved to visit the park with his mother and sister Karen, where he rode the merry-go-round and swing. He was also an avid swimmer, per Neil's biography.
Rick was 12 years old when he watched his father walk on the moon, he told Fox News in July 2019. He had been selected to play in an all-star baseball game, but had to skip it, because he was in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to watch his father, per The New York Times.
'When he stepped off, nobody in the room heard what the words were because they were all, 'What did he say?' ' he told Fox News. 'I heard it and I said, 'Something about a small step,' but at the time, it wasn't at all clear what was going on. I always remember that.'
The impact of the Apollo 11 launch stuck with Rick, he told Fox News.
'The inspiration that people from all over the world got from that program to me, that is the legacy of Apollo,' he said.
In 1979, Rick received a bachelor's degree in biology from Wittenberg University and went on to work as a marine mammal trainer for many years, per his bio on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's website.
Nearly a decade later, in 1988, he began working with his brother at a software development startup in Ohio, where he stayed until 1994.
Today, he's a freelance software developer and consultant. He resides in Ohio with his wife, Mary.
Rick has continued on his father's legacy via his work on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, where he is a member of the board of directors. The foundation offers funds to students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics, per the website.
In 2018, Rick and Mark initiated a series of auctions to sell their dad's belongings. As of July 2019, they had sold $16.7 million worth of merchandise, including Neil's childhood teddy bear and a preschool report card he signed, according to The New York Times.
Neil and Janet welcomed their only daughter, Karen Anne Armstrong, on April 13, 1959, in Lancaster, Calif.
Neil felt especially close to his daughter, whom he called 'Muffie,' per his biography.
'How he loved Rick [his firstborn], but when Karen was born, he was just a different man,' June told his biographer.
On June 4, 1961, Karen took a fall at a park she frequented with her mother and brother. She had a nosebleed and a potential concussion, so Janet took her to the doctor. After a series of tests, Karen was diagnosed with a glioma of the pons, a malignant tumor growing within the middle part of her brain stem.
Doctors began an X-ray treatment to try to shrink the tumor, which caused Karen to lose all of her balance. Initial radiation was followed by six weeks of outpatient treatment, where she learned how to crawl and eventually walk again.
However, Neil continued to consult with doctors, including his sister June's husband, Dr. Jack Hoffman, a physician with a practice in Wisconsin.
'I'm the eternal optimist, but my husband told me, 'No, she'll be dead within 6 months,' ' June said, per the biography.
Karen died on Jan. 28, 1962, six months after her diagnosis and on her parents' sixth wedding anniversary.
Neil showed a strong exterior during his daughter's funeral, "though everyone knew he was suffering deeply," Hansen wrote in Neil's biography.
'People who knew Armstrong well indicated Neil never once brought up the subject of his daughter's illness and death," he wrote, per Slate. "In fact, several of his closest working associates stated they did not know Neil ever had a daughter.'
Neil and Janet welcomed their son Mark Stephen Armstrong on April 8, 1963, in Houston, Texas, per Neil's biography.
Although Mark was young when he watched his father walk on the moon, he can still remember the emotions he felt that day.
'It was exciting,' he said in an October 2016 interview with The Museum of Flight. "I was pretty sheltered from the dangers involved, so I didn't really appreciate ... all the things that could go wrong."
Mark grew up close to other astronaut families, who were neighbors. He spent time with Pete Conrad's family, attending cookouts and playing in the pool with his kids. When he visited his father in the post-flight quarantine, he did so alongside Buzz Aldrin's family.
Mark graduated with his bachelor's degree in physics from Stanford University in 1986. He went on to work as a software writer consultant for Macintosh computers.
He then worked as the vice president of engineering at Pharos Technologies, Inc., followed by administrative and executive roles with Symantec Corporation, WebTV Networks, Microsoft and Scenario Learning.
In 2012, Mark and Rick attended an astronaut reunion and gala at the Museum of Flight, which inspired Mark to join the museum's board of trustees.
Mark is married to Cincinnati lawyer Wendy Armstrong, who represented Mark and Rick during an investigation into a wrongful death claim against Mercy Health Fairfield Hospital, where Neil died at age 82 on Aug. 25, 2012, after complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.
Mercy Health settled out of court for $6 million, which was given to Neil's sons, sister, brother and grandchildren, per The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Read the original article on People
