The federal government says it has signed an agreement with the United States to send a Canadian astronaut around the moon.

The planned trip in 2023 is part of a broader U.S.-led effort to establish a new international space station above the lunar surface to allow for exploration of the moon and future missions to Mars. The Gateway Treaty unveiled today also calls for a second flight for a Canadian astronaut to that future space station, known as the Lunar Gateway.

The federal government has not said how much the flight will cost.