Another scientist with ties to America's space program has now joined the growing list of deaths and disappearances around the US. He also worked on the Deep Space 1 Mission, which tested new spacecraft technology that flew by a comet in 2001. Moreover, three of these scientists had close ties to Hicks, as all of them worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab or participated in NASA missions there. Strangely, a series of online obituaries dedicated to Hicks did not mention any health issues before the 59-year-old's death, which appeared to happen suddenly, roughly one year after leaving NASA JPL. A similar situation unfolded after Maiwald's death on July 4, 2024, when the prominent JPL researcher died in Los Angeles from unknown circumstances.

Source: Daily Mail April 08, 2026 16:39 UTC