One other mysterious NASA demise as ninth scientist linked to secret applications dies

A NASA scientist mysteriously died with none explanation for demise listed or post-mortem — sparking questions on whether or not he was a part of a sample of deaths tied to the US area and nuclear program.

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

He assisted on the DART Venture, the Close to Earth Asteroid Monitoring (NEAT) Venture, the Daybreak Mission, and the NASA Deep Area 1 Mission.

It’s unclear if there’s any foul play linked to Hicks’ demise, however his obituary asks for donations in his reminiscence to go to Alcoholics Nameless. He joins eight different scientists or high officers who’ve died or disappeared lately.

Monica Reza, JPL’s former Director of the Supplies Processing Group, disappeared in June 2025 whereas mountaineering and has nonetheless not been discovered.

Retired Air Power Gen. William Neil McCasland additionally disappeared in February, strolling out of his house in Albuquerque, New Mexico with out his prescription glasses or cellphone.

JPL astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was murdered on his entrance porch in February, and Frank Maiwald, one other JPL scientist, died in July 2024 with out rationalization. Maiwald was a longtime co-worker of Hicks.

Two nuclear employees on the Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory vanished from their houses in 2025 beneath mysterious circumstances. Anthony Chavez, a longtime employee on the lab, and Melissa Casias, an administrative assistant there, have been final seen leaving their houses with out important private gadgets like their wallets or telephones.

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

Lastly, pharmaceutical researcher Jason Thomas was discovered lifeless in a Massachusetts lake final month after additionally disappearing a number of months earlier.

He was researching most cancers therapies at Novartis.

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker informed the Day by day Mail that the circumstances ought to be thought-about suspicious.

“You may say these are all suspicious, and these are scientists who’ve labored in important expertise,” Swecker informed the Day by day Mail.

Swecker believes international intelligence businesses have been concentrating on US expertise for many years, doubtlessly revealing who may very well be answerable for the disappearances or mysterious circumstances of scientists and officers.

“China, Russia, even a few of our pals – Pakistan, India, Iran, North Korea – they aim this sort of expertise,” Swecker informed the Day by day Mail.

Hicks primarily labored on asteroid missions, together with DART, which was an area mission aimed toward testing planetary protection towards near-Earth asteroids. His speciality was the bodily properties of comets and asteroids.

One in every of his obituaries says he had a “ardour for science was coupled with a deep appreciation of artwork.

“He pursued initiatives in visible media, from woodblock prints to grease portray to metalwork, and he performed the ukulele. His performances have been a daily prevalence throughout observing runs at Mount Palomar,” it provides.

---

Obtain The California Publish App, comply with us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters