Neil Armstrong kids: Meet Rick, Karen & Mark Armstrong

Everyone knows Neil Armstrong, the famous American astronaut, who landed on the moon as the first person. Back on Earth, he is the father of three at home. The person who garnered enough applause for the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969, is, after all, a family man who navigated his children’s upbringing with care like anyone else. 

Now the question arises, how his children grew up, and what about their journey from birth to the present date. This Elivestory article explores the lives of Rick, Karen, and Mark Armstrong — the three children of America’s most celebrated astronaut — including Karen’s heartbreaking story, Rick’s NASA foundation work, Mark’s film career, and what they’re doing today.

Who was Neil Armstrong 

Born on August 5, 1930, Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon’s surface as part of the Apollo 11 mission. The man from Wapakoneta, Ohio, was just six years old when he got his first experience of enjoying an aeroplane ride and was tremendously hooked on flying higher from that moment.

He got a pilot’s license much earlier, to be precise, during his 15 years before getting the driving license. Neil Armstrong pursued his career in aerospace engineering, and the journey from Navy pilot to NASA astronaut is truly astounding. 

Neil Armstrong’s Marriage to Janet Shearon

On January 28, 1956, Neil Armstrong tied the knot with Janet Shearon in Wilmette, Illinois, at the Congregational Church.  It was Purdue University where the couple met, and they spent 38 years together as a couple from 1956 to 1994, according to the biography of Neil titled First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. 

An inoperable brain tumor led to the death of their only daughter, Karen, on their sixth anniversary of marriage. In 1957, the duo Neil and Janet Armstrong welcomed their first elder son, Eric Alan, and 2 years later, they added a daughter, Karen, to their family, who died from a brain tumor in 1962. Neil and Janet Shearon welcomed their third child, son Mark, in the following year. 

Three kids of Neil Armstrong

Rick Armstrong

Neil and Janet Armstrong’s firstborn son, Eric Alan Armstrong — known throughout his life by the nickname ‘Rick’ — was born on June 30, 1957. After his father’s selection as an astronaut for NASA, the family moved to Houston, Texas. At the place, the family spent 8 years and decided to relocate to Washington, DC.  When Rick was young, he loved to spend time visiting the park with his mother to enjoy leisure time on the merry-go-round in the park. 

In 1979, Rick earned a degree after graduating with a B.A. in Biology from the prestigious Wittenberg University. He kept his sheer focus on learning marine biology, the subject he is interested in.

Afterwards, he worked as a marine mammal trainer for some years. Rick joined his brother Mark’s software development startup in Ohio, working there from 1988 to 1994 before transitioning to independent consulting and database development. Later, he worked as a consultant and software developer, and till 1998, he exclusively made himself involved in the job as a database developer. 

Rick had carried true admiration for his father, and he brought forth the continuation of the legacy made by his father while serving on the board of directors of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The  Astronaut Scholarship Foundation was built to support the brightest scholars who want to pursue their careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Karen Anne Armstrong

In Lancaster, Calif the couple, Neil and Janet, welcomed their only daughter on April 13, 1959. She was Karen Anne Armstrong, the beloved daughter of Neil. Neil felt a deeper love and feeling for her daughter. Being very close to Neil, her father gave her the name “Muffie,” as per the information in Neil’s biography titled “First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.” The book was written by James R. Hansen and was published as a book in the year 2005. The biography has become a popular movie released in 2018, starring Hollywood actor Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, directed by Damien Chazelle. 

On June 4, 1961, a sudden fall at a park visited by Karen, along with her mother and brother, brought an unintended misfortune to the family of Neil. After falling at the park, Karen suffered a concussion and also had a nosebleed, compelling her mother, Janet, to take her to the hospital. 

After performing a myriad of tests, she was diagnosed with glioma of the pons area, which transformed into an incurable malignant tumor. It was on Jan. 28, 1962, the sixth anniversary of the wedding between  Neil and Janet, riddled with sorrow, when they lost the life of their only daughter, Karen (aged 2), 6 months after the diagnosis. 

Mark Stephen Armstrong

A new baby boy was born on April 8, 1963, bringing joy to the family of Neil and Janet. He was Mark Stephen Armstrong. Mark graduated from Stanford University, receiving his bachelor’s degree in physics in the year 1986.

Mark worked as a technical writer and software consultant, focusing on Apple Macintosh platform development during the personal computing boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Later on, he worked at Pharos Technologies as the engineering domain vice president and worked in an executive cum administrative role with Symantec Corporation, Scenario Learning, and WebTV Networks. 

He is indeed an actor and writer who is seen performing in movies, Armstrong (2019) and First Man (2018). In the movie, the first man, Mark, had a cameo appearance portraying the role of a public affairs officer at NASA named Paul Haney. In the 2019 movie Armstrong, Mark performed off-screen as a writer cum musician. Backing vocals for the end credits song of the documentary movie “Flight of Fancy” were attributed to Mark Armstrong, sung by Kali Armstrong, the daughter of Mike. 

Quick facts about Neil Armstrong’s kids 

Full Name	Born	Occupation	Status
Eric Alan “Rick” Armstrong	June 30, 1957	Software developer, former marine mammal trainer	Living
Karen Anne Armstrong	April 13, 1959	—	Died January 28, 1962
Mark Stephen Armstrong	April 8, 1963	Writer, software executive, actor	Living

From sons to the storyteller of Neil’s legacy 

The 2018 movie  First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle, is not just a mere historical biography, but the movie exemplifies the personal story of Neil beneath the surface. Writer Josh Singer and acclaimed director Damien Chazelle worked collaboratively with his real son, Rick, and Mark Armstrong to share a true legacy of their father, the man who took his first leap successfully on the moon’s surface. 

The movie dishes out unflinching accuracy with exact authenticity, as reflected by his son Mark, who told Variety,“I think Dad has been mischaracterized over the years, because he’s been called reclusive and all kinds of things, which just aren’t true.”This shows the commitment to accuracy made by the director Damien Chazelle, who took first-hand input from Neil’s own children, Rick and Mark, to give detailing of the movie to dish out the biography of Neil Armstrong. 

Neil’s Second Marriage

In 1994, Neil Armstrong married Carol Held Knight. After spending 38 years in a relationship with Janet, the couple’s relationship came to an end in 1994. Neil met  Carol Held Knight at a golf tournament event in 1992. At the gold tournament venue, Neil Armstrong and Carol sat at breakfast together. On June 12, 1994, the couple tied the knot in Ohio while enjoying a second ceremony in California at San Ysidro Ranch. The couple was reportedly happily married until her husband, Neil, breathed his last on August 12, 2012. 

Has Neil Armstrong had any children from his marriage to Carol Held Knight

No, Neil and Carol did not have any children together. The couple enjoyed their married life together from 1994 to 2012 till she lost her husband, Neil in 2012. Neil had three children in total with his marriage to his first wife, Janet Shearon. 

10  Interesting Facts About Neil Armstrong Kids

1. Although Neil and Janet Armstrong had three children in total, namely  Rick, Karen, and Mark, only two out of the three survived to adulthood.
2. Born on June 30, 1957, Eric Alan “Rick” Armstrong grew up partly in Houston after his dad joined NASA.
3. Rick loved marine life and pursued his career with a B.A. degree in Biology from Wittenberg University in 1979, and later worked as a marine mammal trainer.
4. Rick brings forth the continuation of the family legacy and serves on the role as a board of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, supporting students to pursue their studies in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).  
5. Karen was Neil’s only daughter, born on  April 13, 1959, and her father gave her the nickname “Muffie”.
6. Karen died on January 28, 1962, at age 2 — just months before what would have been her third birthday. From an inoperable brain tumor and breathed her last, leaving her parents on their sixth wedding anniversary, riddled with sorrow. 
7. Born April 8, 1963, Mark, the youngest son of Neil, graduated from Stanford with a physics degree and later worked at Symantec and WebTV.
8. Mark became an actor too, appeared in First Man (2018) playing the role of Paul Haney, a public affairs officer at NASA, and contributed as a writer cum musician to the 2019 documentary movie Armstrong.
9. After spending 38 years in a married relationship with Janet, Neil divorced her and married again for the second time to Carol Held Knight in 1994, and lived together before he lost his breath on August 25, 2012. 
10. Neil had three children (Rick, Karen & Mark Armstrong) in total with his marriage to his first wife, Janet Shearon. 

Timeline of events 

Let’s have a look at the timeline of events that happened chronologically. 

Year	Event
1956	Neil Armstrong married Janet Shearon on January 28, 1956, in Wilmette, Illinois.
1957	Their first child, Eric Alan “Rick” Armstrong, was born on June 30, 1957.
1959	Their only daughter, Karen Anne “Muffie” Armstrong, was born on April 13, 1959.
1962	Karen tragically passed away from an inoperable brain tumor on January 28, 1962, at just 2 years old.
1963	Their youngest son, Mark Stephen Armstrong, was born on April 8, 1963.
1969	Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon during the historic Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969.
1994	After divorcing Janet, Neil married Carol Held Knight on June 12, 1994.
2012	Neil Armstrong passed away on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82, following complications from heart surgery.
2018	The biographical film First Man, starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, was released, with input from his sons Rick and Mark Armstrong.

Wrapping up 

Neil Armstrong is an icon who will always be remembered as the first human to walk on the surface of the Moon. Behind the historic achievement, his journey is not limited to the Apollo 11 mission. Besides this, he was a devoted father who was gripped with sorrow for his daughter Karen’s sudden death at just 2, and also witnessed family responsibilities as millions of people around the world. 

From celebrating childhood milestones to struggling with unimaginable loss with his daughter’s death, together, Neil Armstrong’s children remind us that even history’s greatest explorers are, at their core, fathers — shaped by love, loss, and the enduring human experience that reaches far beyond any moon landing. 

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