The Hungarian who developed space food for the first American astronauts

The text recounts the life of Lajos Jókay-Ihász, a Hungarian food engineer who contributed to NASA's Mercury space program by developing food for astronauts. Born in Budapest in 1924, he faced challenges during WWII, fled to the US, and later worked on freeze-dried food for space missions. He also contributed to the development of aspartame while maintaining his Hungarian identity in the US. Jókay-Ihász returned to Hungary after communism fell but passed away in 1993. His family established a foundation in his memory.