Michael David Hicks
- Life status
- Confirmed deceased
- Profession
- Planetary scientist; research scientist, NASA JPL (1998–2022)
- Also recorded as
- Michael Hicks
- Born
- Not recorded
- Age
- 59 · as reported by Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona (attributed), at the recorded event
- Died
- 30 July 2023 · known to the day
- Fields
- Not classified yet: categories await the owner’s taxonomy review
- Organisations
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA postdoc, then research scientist, 1998–2022
The University of Arizona, Ph.D. student, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory - Works
- None catalogued yet
In plain words
Planetary scientist; research scientist, NASA JPL (1998–2022). His documented field is planetary science (comets and asteroids). No read source links him to UAP research; he appears only in 2026 media lists of scientists who died or went missing.
Biography
Michael David Hicks of Sunland, California, planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and University of Arizona PhD, is the person described by the LPL In Memoriam page and the Forest Lawn obituary.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1964, according to the University of Arizona LPL. Attributed
LPL states he died at 59 years of age. Attributed
Degrees from Boston University and a Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences from the University of Arizona (1997), as LPL records.
Doctoral student at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (Ph.D. 1997), as LPL records.
Planetary scientist; research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1998 until 2022, according to LPL and his obituary.
Worked at JPL as a NASA postdoc and then research scientist from 1998 until 2022, according to LPL; his obituary also describes a long JPL career.
His research specialty was the physical properties of comets and asteroids; he served on mission science teams including DART and the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking project, according to LPL. Attributed
Dissertation "A Spectrophotometric Survey of Comets and Earth-Approaching Asteroids" (1997), listed by LPL.
His documented field is planetary science (comets and asteroids). No read source links him to UAP research; he appears only in 2026 media lists of scientists who died or went missing.
Died on July 30, 2023, according to the University of Arizona LPL and the Forest Lawn obituary.
Not established
- Not establishedNo read source states his full date of birth in captured text; LPL gives the year 1964. Not established in the reviewed sources; LPL memoriam and newsletter read 2026-11-11: born in Dayton, Ohio, 1964. The Forest Lawn heading date was not captured verbatim and is not used.; checked 11 Nov 2026.
- Not establishedNo read source states where he died; sources give his residence as Sunland, California. Not established in the reviewed sources; LPL memoriam, LPL newsletter and Forest Lawn obituary read 2026-11-11: residence only.; checked 11 Nov 2026.
- Not establishedNo cause of death was publicly released (NBC Los Angeles, Newsweek). Not established in the reviewed sources; LPL, Forest Lawn, NBC Los Angeles and Newsweek read 2026-11-11: "A cause of death was not publicly released."; checked 11 Nov 2026.
- Not establishedNo official determination was found. Not established in the reviewed sources; Same scope as cl-medical-cause.; checked 11 Nov 2026.
Connection to UAP research
His documented field is planetary science (comets and asteroids). No read source links him to UAP research; he appears only in 2026 media lists of scientists who died or went missing.
Works
No works catalogued in the approved record yet. Works mentioned in sources appear as attributed statements in the biography.
Timeline
Events and cases
No case file is published for this person. Recorded life events are in the timeline above; a case is opened only with its own evidence and review.
Sources
- Michael Hicks (In Memoriam) - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory & Department of Planetary Sciences (opens in a new tab)Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona · Institution · read
- Michael Hicks Obituary Jul 30, 2023 - Forest Lawn (opens in a new tab)Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, 2023 · Funeral-home obituary · read
- Michael David Hicks (1964-2023) (opens in a new tab)Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona (Fall 2023 Newsletter, Alumni News), 2023 · Institution · read
- 'Something sinister could be happening': FBI looks into dead or missing nuclear and space defense scientists tied to NASA, Blue Origin, and SpaceX (opens in a new tab)Fortune, 2026 · News report · readAuthor: Catherina Gioino