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National Archives To Recall Nixon's NASA Years

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Archives is displaying rarely seen documents and items showing milestones in manned spaceflight from President Richard Nixon's administration.

NASA sent the first men to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission during Nixon's presidency and followed with five more lunar missions. The archives will look back at Nixon's support for the space program and his efforts to improve Cold War relations through cooperation in space.

The new exhibit "Nixon and the U.S. Space Program" opens Monday. It will include the telephone Nixon used to talk to the Apollo 11 astronauts after their moon landing, a speech drafted in case of disaster during Apollo 11 and tongs used during Apollo 12 to collect moon rocks.

Wednesday marks the 100th anniversary of Nixon's birth. The display is open through June.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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