Another mysterious NASA death as ninth scientist linked to secret programs dies

A NASA scientist mysteriously died without any cause of death listed or autopsy — sparking questions about whether he was part of a pattern of deaths tied to the US space and nuclear program.

Michael Hicks, who worked on a myriad of NASA space science missions, died in July 2023 at the age of 59 and worked at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from 1998 to 2022.

He assisted on the DART Project, the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) Project, the Dawn Mission, and the NASA Deep Space 1 Mission.

It is unclear if there’s any foul play linked to Hicks’ death, but his obituary asks for donations in his memory to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. He joins eight other scientists or top officials who have died or disappeared recently.

Monica Reza, JPL’s former Director of the Materials Processing Group, disappeared in June 2025 while hiking and has still not been found.

Retired Air Force Gen. William Neil McCasland also disappeared in February, walking out of his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico without his prescription glasses or phone.

JPL astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was murdered on his front porch in February, and Frank Maiwald, another JPL scientist, died in July 2024 without explanation. Maiwald was a longtime co-worker of Hicks.

Two nuclear workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory vanished from their homes in 2025 under mysterious circumstances. Anthony Chavez, a longtime worker at the lab, and Melissa Casias, an administrative assistant there, were last seen leaving their homes without critical personal items like their wallets or phones.

Boston fusion energy researcher Nuno Loureiro was killed at his home in December 2025 by former classmate Claudio Neves Valente, who was from Portugal.

Lastly, pharmaceutical researcher Jason Thomas was found dead in a Massachusetts lake last month after also disappearing several months earlier.

He was researching cancer treatments at Novartis.

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told the Daily Mail that the cases should be considered suspicious.

“You can say these are all suspicious, and these are scientists who have worked in critical technology,” Swecker told the Daily Mail.

Swecker believes foreign intelligence agencies have been targeting US technology for decades, potentially revealing who could be responsible for the disappearances or mysterious circumstances of scientists and officials.

“China, Russia, even some of our friends – Pakistan, India, Iran, North Korea – they target this type of technology,” Swecker told the Daily Mail.

Hicks primarily worked on asteroid missions, including DART, which was a space mission aimed at testing planetary defense against near-Earth asteroids. His speciality was the physical properties of comets and asteroids.

One of his obituaries says he had a “passion for science was coupled with a deep appreciation of art.

“He pursued projects in visual media, from woodblock prints to oil painting to metalwork, and he played the ukulele. His performances were a regular occurrence during observing runs at Mount Palomar,” it adds.

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