Radio IowaDecember 30, 2020Last Updated: December 30, 2020 Cedar Falls, Iowa – NASA plans to have a permanent, manned lunar base by 2024 and the Iowan on the team of astronauts who will make the journey calls the Moon a stepping stone to Mars and beyond. Cedar Falls native Raja Chari says we have to continue to explore and expand our species beyond this planet, while also learning to make the Earth even more hospitable. The latest Moon program is called Artemis (ART-ah-mus), named for the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology. Eighteen astronauts are on the team, nine men and nine women. Chari says his concern is -not- whether he makes it to the Moon himself, but instead whether he contributes to keeping the progress of the Artemis project moving forward.