(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday will sign a directive aimed at sending Americans back to the moon and eventually to Mars, the White House said.

Trump will sign "Space Policy Directive 1" that orders NASA "to lead an innovative space exploration program to send American astronauts back to the Moon, and eventually Mars," spokesman Hogan Gidley said.

Gidley said Trump's move is based on recommendations from the National Space Council.

"He will change our nation's human spaceflight policy to help America become the driving force for the space industry, gain new knowledge from the cosmos, and spur incredible technology," Gidley said in a statement.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Alden Bentley and Jeffrey Benkoe)